It's Like You're Screaming
by TheThirdDoppelganger
Summary: AU/AH. When Elena and her 2 year-old daughter move to New York City, it's because she wants a fresh start away from her past love, Damon Salvatore. Both of them are determined to move on, to forget their past filled with bad memories. But, New York City isn't such a big city after all.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1 - "Start of my Greatest Fear"**_

**Now****: Elena's POV**

_It's like you're screaming, and no one can hear_

_You almost feel ashamed_

_That someone could be that important_

_That without them, you feel like nothing_

_No one will ever understand how much it hurts_

_You feel hopeless; like nothing can save you_

_And when it's over, and it's gone_

_You almost wish that you could have all that bad stuff back_

_So that you could have the good_

New York City is a strange place complete with jugglers in Central Park, platinum blonde women with Sugar Daddies shopping on Fifth Avenue with shopping bags stacked up their tan arms, and businessmen who rush to and from work every morning and every afternoon like they have something extremely important to do. Caroline likes it already. Go figure. She was never met for the small town lifestyle that we grew up with in Mystic Falls with. She must prefers the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle. She was in her glory when she was negotiating with a street vender, who was selling the cutest earnings that she just had to have. Caroline won that little argument by threatening the call the police on him, since his little "store" was illegal, as most are in New York.

As for me, I was homesick as soon as we stepped foot in the apartment that would be our new home. I was instantly craving the sweet raspberry lemonade that Clary, the owner of The Mystic Grill, made every summer. It was a sort of tradition to have Clary's raspberry lemonade every Sunday in the summer. It's the best way to get cool after long hours of working and playing in Virginia's summer heat. If I try hard enough, I can squeeze my eyes shut and block out all my surroundings, and it's almost like I can taste the icy, purple drink on my tongue.

Only a couple of hours after moving into the apartment, all of our furniture is in it's places. Boxes clutter our separate rooms with clothes that have to be put away in drawers and pictures that have to be set up and, in mine and Caroline's case, hair and makeup supplies that are eager to hog up the two bathrooms that the apartment has. Our apartment clearly isn't the best New York has to offer, but it isn't the worst either. Two full bathrooms, four small bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a storage unit downstairs in the basement of the apartment complex. I'd say it's a win.

Matt is sitting on the bright red plush chair that Mrs. Lockwood gave us, he looks exhausted from having to move all of our furniture from the U-Haul truck on the noisy city street up 5 stories to our apartment. Tyler is sitting on the couch with Caroline's head on his lap. He plays with a lock of her blonde hair and he says something, earning a giggle from Caroline. I stand in the kitchen that overlooks the living room, watching my three roommates, as I put away the pots and pans and spatulas and cups and everything else a kitchen needs.

"I have an idea!" Caroline suddenly perks up, sitting from Tyler's lap. "Let's go out to dinner and celebrate our moving out and independence and life in the Big Apple." She looks around at all of us. Tyler protectively wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling Caroline closer towards him. "My Dad said that there's this cute little restaurant only a block away. He said it was inexpensive, too." Caroline looks at Matt and I when she says the last part, very well knowing that Matt and I aren't doing too well on the financial aspect of life. Matt slightly frowns at her.

"You guys can," I say, leaving the kitchen and coming over into the living room. Playing on the TV is a baseball game with the Yankees and some other team that I don't know the name off. Boys and their baseball. I sit on the arm of the red couch next to Tyler. "I can't. Aubree - hopefully - won't be waking up from her nap for a little while yet. I can't wake her up either, you all know how cranky she gets when she is forcefully woken up."

Matt shakes his head. "If Elena and Aubs can't go, then let's all not go. It'll be lonely without them. Why don't we just order Chinese food, pop in a movie, and call it a night?" He suggests. I can always depend on good ole' Matt to stick with me, so I flash him a appreciated smile. He returns the favor. I really don't feel up to spending the first night in New York by myself.

"That sounds nice, doesn't it, babe?" Tyler gently kisses Caroline's forehead. Those two are sharing a room now, and I have a feeling I'm going to be up most of the night listening to them _doing it_. As much as that completely grosses me out, I'm happy for them. It's easy to see that they are both head over heels for each other. Let them be happy.

Caroline nods. "Yeah, I guess. But we're watching _The Notebook_ and I don't care if either of you two boys cry and whine about it." She grins. Matt and Tyler roll their eyes and groan. I wonder to myself how many times Caroline forced Tyler to watch _The Notebook_ with her. She watches that movie religiously. And even though she saw the ending at least a thousand times, she still somehow manages to bawl her eyes out every single time.

I laugh. "I'll go order the Chinese."

[...]

An hour later, the four of us are curled up on the floor with blankets and cartons of Chinese food with _The Notebook_ playing. It's at the part where Allie and Noah are dancing in the middle of the street, one of my favorite parts of the whole movie. Tyler and Matt look like they can tear their eyes out, while Caroline is gushing about Allie's hair and how muscular Noah is. That's when I hear the pitter-patter of little feet running down the hall and into the kitchen. I look up to see my precious, little Aubree with one side of her hair sticking up from the way she slept.

"Mommy!" Aubree exclaims when she sees me and immediately rushes over and into my arms. Her butt nearly smashes into my container of Pork Fried rice but I successfully push it out of the way. I hold her in my arms, patting down her furious bedhead then kissing the crown of her head.

"Did you sleep well?" I ask her. Her chubby cheeks are rosy and her forehead glistens with a layer of sweat. I guess I shouldn't have dressed her so warmly. But I would rather her be a little too warm then cold while she slept. Aubree nods, her attention completely focused on the movie. Great. Now Caroline corrupted Aubree with her _Notebook_ obsession.

Matt smiles as he watches Aubree. "Come here, pretty girl." He says and reaches down from the chair, pulling Aubree up and into his arms then sets her on his lap. Aubree rests her head against his chest, still somewhat sleepy from her long nap. Matt is the closet thing Aubree ever had to a father figure. Oh, Matt. What would I do without him? He's my savior when I need saving. He'll drop whatever he's doing to come and watch Aubree for me if I'm exhausted or have something I have to be doing. I might as well slap Matt's name on Aubree's birth certificate.

Tyler, too, takes notice on my daughter's obsession with _The Notebook_ and nudges Caroline. "Looks like you brainwashed Aubs with all this_ Notebook_ shit." He chuckles, looking at how Aubree's eyes are glued to the television.

Caroline smirks. "Just wait until she's older. She'll be addicted to every single Nicholas Spark movie. You watch and see."

[...]

Aubree utterly refuses to go back to sleep until eleven o'clock that night. I guess that's my punishment for letting her take a late nap. After she finally goes to sleep, I'm wide awake. First night jitters, I suppose. So, after switching on her Princess Jasmine nightlight, I leave Aubree's room and goes to the kitchen. I open the fridge and see that there is only a gallon of milk and a container of blueberries in it. One of us is going to have to do some grocery shopping tomorrow. I grab the container of blueberries, wash them, then sit on the little window seat in the living room that overlooks the street below.

Maybe packing up and moving my two year old daughter hours away from her home was a mistake. It's not like I have to be here in New York anyway, I just came because my friends begged me too. Caroline said I needed a fresh start, a new me. Easier said than done. Caroline, Tyler, and Matt all came here to pursue college, to take a step towards their future. I'm not going to college. I can't, not with Aubree. If anything, maybe in a few years time I'll be able to go to some sort of community college, enough to get a stable job and provide for Aubree for the rest of her life.

I hear one of the floorboards creak as someone walks on them. I groan, thinking it's Aubree who's up. But with a simple turn of my head, I see that it's Caroline. She's wearing her pajama shorts and a tank top, similar to my pajamas too. Except her blonde hair falls in waves over her shoulders while my brunette locks are pulled up in a high, messy bun. "Hey," She said quietly as she joins me on the window seat, stealing one of my blueberries.

"Hi," I reply, popping another blueberry into my mouth.

"Elena, do you remember why I told you that you should come with us?" She asks, pulling her knees to her chest and looking at me. Caroline always was the type of person to get directly to the point.

I nod. "You said I needed a new start." I look away from her and back out the window. New York sure is a bright city. And loud. I wonder if I'll ever be able to sleep with all the noise going on. I'm sure that if I listen closely enough, I could hear people shouting their conversations from 5 stories below. That's a drastic difference from not even being able to hear Jeremy talking in the kitchen while I'm in the living room at my old house in Mystic Falls.

"Exactly. A new start. A new life. A life without _him_." She follows my gaze out the window, admiring the city lights and stores that line the street. I give her two days tops to scope out all the best stores on our street. Caroline's words replay themselves in my head. I close my eyes, the image of him instantly appearing. He's so lifelike in my imagination that I feel like I could almost touch him, feel the pressure of his lips against mine. But as soon as I open my eyes, I see Caroline's face, her brows furrowed her concern.

"It's just...it's kind of hard to completely forget about the father of your child." I answer in a hushed tone.

Caroline nods in agreement. "Yeah, I guess it could be." She shrugs then looks back at me. "But he's gone, Elena. The best thing for you do to is let go. Find a few guy, there are plenty of guys in New York who would love to be able to call you theirs."

I squeeze my eyes shut. As much as I want to deny it, I know it's true. I know that he left me and completely forgot about me and Aubree and is off living the life that was planned for him, while I'm stuck caring for the human being that we created. I've been clinging onto the ghost of him for two years now. All those dreams I dreamt about him coming back to me were just dreams. Not reality. Sometimes, I learned, that the most painful thing you will ever experience in life is having to let go of someone you thought you could never live without. But, then you realize that you can live without them. You'll be weak at first, with shaky knees and trembling hands, but slowly, you'll be able to piece yourself back together into the person that you were before they left you.

I did the same thing when my parents died. Now, I have to go through that process all over again when he left me.

When I open my eyes, I'm a new person. Free from the pain that he trapped me in during the past two years. "You're absolutely right, Caroline. Tomorrow, we'll go shopping and sightseeing and I'll look for a job. Maybe, then, I'll meet someone new." I force a small smile. Meeting a new guy wasn't on my top priorities right now. But it would be a little nice to have a boyfriend, someone who is loving and caring towards Aubree, someone who respects my past and promises to me there for me in my future.

Caroline smiles too. "I can't wait. I was the cutest little boutique earlier. That's the first place we're heading to in the morning." She stands up, pulls me into a tight hug. "I'm just tired of seeing old, gloomy Elena. I miss the happy, fun Elena." She whispers in my ear as we hug. I don't have time to respond before she goes down on the hall and back into her and Tyler's bedroom. I hear her open the door, the faint sound of Tyler's snoring, then her door shutting again.

I sigh heavily, leaning against the brick wall and looking out the window. "I miss the happy, fun Elena, too." I mumble off into the empty space.

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

Lawyers are sneaky little bastards. I would know, I'm one of them. Okay, I'm lying. I'm not technically a lawyer, I don't have a law degree or any of that shit that is virtually pointless. I'm the son of a lawyer, the best in all of Manhattan, probably even the best in the state of New York, maybe even the best on the Eastern coast of the United States. I didn't attend college, I was too dumb to get into Harvard and anything below Harvard isn't good enough for my father. He hired me anyway. I'm not the official lawyer, my name isn't even on the business cards or anything. I just sit in my father's office with an expensive suit and help him out with the cases. He's the one who goes in the court. I get paid, though, pretty decently, I might add. So, I really can't complain.

"Damon." My Father says as he enters the our conjoined office. I nod at him from my desk. Then, he sits down at his desk which is a stone's throw away from mine. Immediately, he gets out his briefcase and pulls out a pile of papers. Jeez. For 7 AM on a Monday morning, this man really does like to work from the beginning of the work day to the end. "Stefan's sick." He mutters, looking over his papers. "Missed his appointment to talk to the head of the Harvard committee. Damn kid. Doesn't he know how hard those things are to reschedule?"

When my Father isn't looking, I roll my eyes. Ever since I became the son that my Father doesn't want to call his, he began pressuring Stefan into being the perfect, straight-A student who plays all the sports and is on every single club that the Manhattan School for Boys has to offer. Frankly, I felt bad for my little brother. His last year of high school was terrible. He took all the AP classes, staying up until 1 AM every night and waking up at 5 AM every morning to get all his schoolwork done. I know that Stefan suffering is all my fault. If I actually tried in high school, I would've been able to go to college and my father would already have one son that is in the process of becoming a lawyer to keep the Salvatore business running. As soon as Stefan's out of law school, my father is retiring and Stefan is going to take over for him, and I'll be in the same position in my job for the rest of my life. Fun, right?

"Give the poor kid a break," I tell my Dad. "It's not his fault that he's sick. You're Giuseppe Salvatore, every professor at Harvard practically worshipped you. I'm sure that you can get Stefan a new appointment by tomorrow at noon." I shrug. "When is Stefan coming home, anyway?" As much as I hate to admit it, I miss my baby brother. Tension between my father and I were always high. Stefan has a way of bringing down the tension and making my father a happier man. For that, I will always appreciate Stefan.

My father's eyes, with wrinkles above, beneath, and next to, scan the papers that are filled from top to bottom with small print. It's clear that my father is having trouble reading so he grabs his glasses and puts them on, which only make him look older than he actually is. "If he doesn't get another appointment within the next few days, which I assume he won't, then I'll have him fly back home in a day or two. Whenever he's feeling better." My Father shrugs. Then he looks up at me and says, "Damon, son, you don't mind going to fetch me a cup of coffee, do you?"

* * *

**Then****: Elena's** **POV**

"Caroline, these shorts are _way_ too tight." I mumble, as I look in the mirror at the shorts that I think I will literally have to peel off tonight. There isn't a inch of room to move in, not even a centimeter. I frown as I look at myself. I've gained a pound or two, that's no secret. Jenna says that I'm depressed because of my parents deaths a few weeks ago, and apparently some depressed people eat. I think it's just because I've been lying around all day, having no energy to do anything except mourn.

Caroline, though, refuses to sit around and watch me be upset anymore. So, it's a warm Saturday June evening, and Caroline is forcing me into going to a party at her older boyfriend's, Klaus, house. Apparently it's one of the biggest parties of the summer - complete with drinking and illegal drug use. God, if my parents ever found out I was going to one of these parties... I stop myself. _They're dead_. Six feet deep in the ground with no hope of resurrection. Gone. Caroline studies my shorts. "No, they're perfect!" A wide smile forms on her face.

I sigh. Of course she wouldn't care about my comfort, she only cares about looks. I frown at her. "I really don't think that this party is a good idea. Why can't we just stay in? Order pizza, put in The Notebook, and call it a girls night?" I bite my lip, knowing that it's pointless to even try to persuade her into letting us ditch the party. I just don't feel like being social. Klaus is a senior, which means it's a senior party with even some college kids there. It's a recipe for disaster. Another reason why I don't want to go is because I know Caroline, and once Caroline has a drink, she's bound to have a few more. I really don't feel like calling Jenna and having to explain why she needs to bring me and a drunk Caroline home.

"Oh, come on!" Caroline groans. "It's one night, Elena! One night! Get out and look good for one night. It'll be fun, I promise. Plus, there'll be _tons_ of cute guys there. And right now, no offense, you need a man."

I purse my lips. There's no way I'm getting out of this one now. It is only one night, right? Then we'll be able to come home late tonight and I can curl up in my bed and sleep in until noon tomorrow. I sigh softly and arch an eyebrow at her. "No drinking?"

She shakes her head. "No drinking." Caroline confirms.

[...]

"Caroline!" I shout, squirming my way through the heavy crowds of people at the Mikaelson's Mansion. The party was exactly what I suspected. The lights are extremely dim, with loud music, and the occasional strobe light along with splashes of bright, colorful lights. "Caroline!" I holler again. She and Klaus ditched me. God only knows what they're doing. Some type of anger boils up inside of me. Klaus is drunk and Caroline, despite her promise to me earlier, had a beer or two. If both of them are drunk and they're alone, the outcome can't be good. They had sex before, it's kind of obvious. But the drunk mind is a stupid mind. If they don't use protection and she ends up pregnant, I'll kill her.

I'm tempted to go upstairs, but I'm sure that there are plenty of other couples getting it on. And I don't want to barge into any room and see anything. So, instead, I go into the kitchen where the lights are on and it's less crowded than the rest of the house. I open up Klaus's refrigerator and grab a handful of grapes and start eating them as I people watch. There is a couple sitting on the kitchen table in an extreme make out session. I can seriously hear sucking sounds. I get that it's a party and all, but do they have to show that much PDA? Can't they go make out in the closet like everyone else?

"What's a pretty girl like you doing all alone at a party?" An unfamiliar voice says. I look up to see a guy, with black boots, dark jeans, and a tight back V-neck t-shirt one, with pitch black hair and ice blue eyes. I swallow hard. He's a senior, I've seen him around the halls of Mystic Falls High School. But he never gave me the time of day. He's the typical tall, dark, and handsome man that's in the movies. I wish I knew his name.

"Hi." I say shyly then mentally curse myself. Suddenly, I feel embarrassed of my outfit - short shorts and a tank top that shows off a lot of cleavage. It's almost like this mysterious senior can look right through my shirt and bra and see my breasts. I bit my lip nervously.

He chuckles and takes a step closer to me, plucking a grape out of my hand and popping it in his mouth. I watch him chew it. "I'm Damon." He holds out his hand. Slowly, I shake it. His hands are sweaty, but not because of nerves like mine are. His hands are sweaty because it's hot in here and he's wearing jeans and boots.

"I'm Elena Gilbert." I answer him, quickly pulling away my hand and wiping away both of our sweat on my shorts. _God, he's so hot_. I feel my cheeks get red, blushing from my thoughts. I try to push Damon out of my mind, to keep me from doing anything more embarrassing.

"Elena Gilbert?" He says, knitting his eyebrows together. Then it looks like he has some sort of epiphany and raises both of his dark eyebrows. "Ah, Elena Gilbert, as in the girl who recently lost her parents because of that damn Wickery Bridge?" Then he mumbles under his breath. "God, I hate that bridge." I nod slowly, wincing a bit at the mention of my parents. He realizes this and frowns slightly. "Oh, touchy subject, right."

I nod slowly. "Yep."

Out of nowhere, Caroline pops out from the crowd. Her cheeks are rosy from the heat and she immediately rushes over to me. "Elena! There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere. Look, we have to go. My Mom is going to be at my house. Klaus's brother, Elijah, is driving us home. Don't worry, he's not drunk or anything." She grabs my hand and starts pulling me away from Damon.

"Goodbye, Elena." Damon winks at me. "See you around." The last thing I see of him is a smirk on his pale pink lips before Caroline yanks me out into the crowd. I follow her obediently, she's clearly worried that we'll end up in trouble once her Mom realizes that we're not home. She pushes me out into a Volvo in the front of the Mikaelson house, where a guy that looks like he's in college is in the drivers seat. I'm guessing this is Elijah.

The ride home is silent and awkward. Caroline and Elijah exchange a few words, small talk about the party and how Klaus can get on each of their nerves. I sit in the backseat, staring at my phone, pretending to text. In a matter of a few minutes, we arrive back at Caroline's house. I'm happy to get out of the car, to feel the cool air against my warm face. Caroline and I thank Elijah then go into her house where, thankfully, is empty. I guess Sherriff Forbes is running a few minutes late, which is good news for us. We go directly into her bedroom, change into our pajamas then lay next to each on her bed, while _Jersey Shore_ plays on the TV.

"So...I saw you and Damon Salvatore talking." Caroline giggles, looking over at me. "He's cute."

I roll my eyes. "We just a little conversation, nothing serious." I try to suppress the smile that is working it's way to my lips. I fail. A big, idiotic smile cracks my lips causing Caroline to giggle even more and roll her eyes too.

"Damon doesn't talk to people he's not interested in. He definitely wants you, Elena." Caroline says.

"Oh, shut up." I turn over on my side, my back facing her, where I can smile like an idiot freely. Okay, so, Damon Salvatore is obviously very good looking. He's older and he has that whole bad boy thing going on. Maybe I can be happy again, and maybe Damon will help me towards happiness. He can be my foundation, my rock. Then again, I'm probably just getting ahead of myself, we just had a little conversation. But he called me pretty. I can't even remember the last time a guy called me pretty. Then he winked at me. A nice, little, quick wink. Enough to have given me butterflies in my stomach.

* * *

**Author's Note: First chapter of my new story! My average for "Right and Wrong" was 2,000 words per chapter. This chapter has over 4,500 words. So, this story's chapters are definitely going to be longer and have better details.**

**Eek! I'm so excited to right this story. So far, I have the first ten chapters planned out of this story, I just have to right them. And let me tell you, chapter 10 is a pretty darn big one. Haha. Any questions regarding this story? Let me know. Please review so I know what you guys think of the this story. And if you're new to me, then make sure you check out my other story, "Right and Wrong"**

**If you are currently reading "Right and Wrong" the final chapter and epilogue will be up soon! Thank you all so much!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2 - "Restaurant Casanova" _

**Now****: Elena's POV**

For our first official day in New York City, the weather is ridiculously perfect. It's warm, but just a tad bit of cool wind. It's the type of weather for capris and a t-shirt, so that's exactly what Aubree and I dress in. I dress Aubree in a light pink shirt, with a cartoon purple butterfly on it, and khaki capris that come down to just below her knees on her chubby legs. I dress myself in a light green t-shirt and denim shorts, with my long, chocolate brown hair down. It's long enough that it comes to the middle of my back. Caroline, on the other hand, opted to overdress. She wears a loose floral skirt, brown sandals, a ruffle pink tank-top, with her blonde hair in thick curls.

"You ladies ready?" Caroline asks, as she pounces into the kitchen whilst applying Mac lipstick on. After she's finishes, she digs in her large purse that's on the counter and, after a bit of searching, pulls out a compact mirror and admires her lipstick job, a smile forming on her face. When she's satisfied with her lips, she tucks both her lipstick tube and the mirror back in her purse, then swings it over her shoulder. "Well, you should be ready. You've been getting ready for, like, an hour now. We have to go before it gets dark."

I can't help but chuckle a bit. "Care, this is New York City. Stores on Fifth Avenue, which is where I'm assuming we'll be going, don't close until very late." I finish packing up my own large purse, she doubles as a diaper bag. As I stuff my bag with diapers, I realize that I should start potty training Aubree now, diapers cost a lot of money. Money I don't have. I look up at Caroline and add, "Plus, it's only ten in the morning. I can assure you we have plenty of time to shop and even stop in a few restaurants and stores so I can get job applications."

Caroline swings her purse over her shoulder and looks at herself in the mirror that is set up on the wall near the door. She adjusts her hair while talking to me. "Fine, fine. But, please don't apply to any of those cheap, filthy restaurants. I really wouldn't appreciate a call saying that you got stabbed while coming home from work." She groans. "Ugh! Why don't this damn piece of hair stay in place?" I watch as Caroline licks her finger, trying to smooth down her little alfalfa.

"Got it." I say. Then, I kneel down next to my daughter so I'm almost eye-to-eye with her. I smile as I gently pat her round stomach. Aubree giggles. "You ready to go shopping with me and Aunt Care?"

Aubree nods excitedly, her loose brown locks falling in her eyes. "Yes, Mommy!"

When I look up at Caroline, Tyler comes in and wraps his arms around her. He whispers something in her ear, she smiles, then the both of them kiss. I purse my lips. I can't help but feel jealous when I watch them. They were perfect for each other, fighting rarely and making love every night. I never expected either of them could be capable to being so selfless towards each other, but they were. Caroline, I know, would drop anything in a heartbeat for Tyler and he would do the same for her. I'll never forget the day they started dating. It was a few weeks after Aubree was born. While I was stuck at home, dealing with cleaning up baby barf and changing dirty diapers, she was at parties and ran into him at one. We knew him from school and from all the boring Council Meetings we were dragged to, since our families were from the Founding Families of Mystic Falls, but we were never really close to him. Until, Caroline and him exchanged numbers. Soon she wouldn't shut up about it. All that came out of her little mouth was, "Tyler is such an amazing football player, isn't he?", "Did you know that Tyler broke the school record for track?", "Tyler, this, Tyler, that." And frankly, it got annoying after a while.

God, I'm such a jealous, selfish, friend, but it's true. Caroline is spoiled, by everyone. I love her like a sister and she's my best friend, I just wish that she would appreciate things more often. She should be grateful that she left that mess of a man named Klaus. She should be grateful that her Mom is paying for her apartment rent. She should be grateful that her Mom is paying for her college. She should be grateful that she didn't wind up pregnant at a young age like me. She should be grateful that she is lucky enough to have someone as amazing as Tyler in her life. But, I guess when all you had was good outcomes and good things in your life, you grow accustomed to them and you aren't as grateful as you should be.

That's when Matt walks into the scene, still in his pajamas. He sees Tyler and Caroline is a full blown makeout session, as I'm trying to pull Aubree's fine hair up into a pony tail, to get it out of her eyes. "Would you two get a room?" Matt says as he goes behind the counter in the kitchen to get something to eat. "Tell'em, Aubs, tell them to get a room."

"Get a room!" Aubree mimics Matt in her high-pitched, innocent voice. That finally breaks the apparent gravitational pull between Tyler and Caroline's mouth long enough so they turn and look at us. Caroline blushes and digs her head into Tyler's chest, like they were just caught making out by their parents or something.

Matt booms with laughter. He walks back over to Aubree, just as I complete her pony tail. "That's my girl!" They both high-five each other and I roll my eyes. See? Like I said before, I might as well cross out her father's name and write Matt Donovan on the birth certificate. I often imagine that Matt would be the one to walk Aubree down the aisle when the time comes, but they won't be for many, _many _years. Even if I get married and have a couple more kids, Matt was the guy who supported me from the start and didn't stop supporting and helping me.

Caroline rolls her eyes. "Alright, alright, you two had your fun. Come on, Elena, let's go before Matt forms some diabolical scheme to stop mine and Tyler's sex life." She pulls away from Tyler, and swings her purse back over her shoulder.

"Bye, sweets. Be safe." Tyler kisses Caroline's forehead while I swing my own bag over my shoulder and I hold onto Aubree's hand tightly. Tyler turns his attention to Aubree and smiles at her. "Have fun shopping, Aubree." He waves as Caroline, Aubree, and I leave our apartment.

The three of us leave the stale apartment air and go out onto the streets of the great New York City. We leave quite a walk from Fifth Avenue and a taxi would take too long and it's too expensive for me, so we decide on taking a subway. Well, I decide on taking a subway. Caroline insists on taking a cab. "Elena!" Caroline hisses at me as I make my way with Aubree towards the subway. "There are _rats_ down there! You can't be serious!"

"I'm completely serious, Caroline." I sigh as we started walking down the steps towards the subway. "I suggest you get used to riding the subway now. Cabs cost a lot of money and you're a college student. Money must be tight for you." I mumble, even though I surely know that Sheriff Forbes is always willing to send her daughter a few extra bucks whenever she needs it. I force a smile on my face and look at Aubree. "Aubs, we're going to ride the subway."

Aubree cocks her head towards the side and looks at me in confusion. "The subway?" She says. "What's that?" We finish walking down the stairs, but Caroline is lagging behind because she's afraid she'll trip in her high heel sandals.

"The subway is a train, but it goes underground!" I try to act excited. I've ridden a subway a couple of times before, when my Mom and Dad would take Jeremy and I up to the city when we were just kids. I barely remember riding one, though. The only thing I remember is when my Dad was clueless on reading the maps and we ended up on the opposite side of Manhattan. Whoops.

"No. It's a place filled with rats and smelly people." Caroline grumbles. I choose to ignore her. I walk over to the map of the subways and find that we need to take the subway to Lexington Avenue, which is three blocks away from Fifth Avenue. Not a bad walk, plus I'm sure Aubree would love admiring the tall skyscrapers and all the crazy people that populate New York.

We stand, waiting for our train to come. There are plenty of other people waiting along with us. And neither to them look like drug addicts or people who just committed a murder, much like the stereotypes of the New York subways. And, not once while we waited, did we see a single rat. We road the subway down to Lexington Avenue, I was just happy that we got on the right train. We're lucky we didn't end up in the Bronx or Queens or something. Maybe I really can get used to my new New Yorker title. _Elena Gilbert, New Yorker._ I'm just happy I don't have that accent.

Caroline, surprisingly, doesn't complain once she finds out we have to walk three blocks to get to the destination for shopaholics. Aubree stares up at the skyscrapers. I wonder what's going through that little head of hers. She's so curious, so smart. Everything I ever wanted in a daughter. Not to mention adorable. I smile but Caroline smiles even bigger once we see that little street sign that says, "Fifth Avenue".

[...]

Five hours later, Caroline walks with at least ten shopping bags from stores like Aldo, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Nine West, H&M, and Cole Haan. I'm carrying one bag from The Gap containing a tank top with a matching sparkly skirt for Aubree. After we leave Gucci, I turn to Caroline. "Aubree is getting hungry. Mind if we stop for a quick bite to eat? I could get a job application there, too." I suggest.

Caroline nods. She's probably hungry too. "Sounds good. Where do you want to go?" She asks. The bags look like they're heavy, I'm sure she can't wait to set them down. Tyler and Matt should've came with us, they could've carried Caroline's bags in the heavy crowds. "How about there?" She points to a little restaurant on the corner. It's called Half Life.

I nod. "Sure.' It seems like a clean place. We walk across the street, I'm still holding onto Aubree's hand tightly. The last thing I need is for her to get lost in the crowd. I'll never find her if we loose each other's grip. We go into Half Life. The color schemes are red, black, and white. It's atmosphere reminds me of T.G.I Fridays or Ruby Tuesdays, typical chain restaurants. The waitress wearing tight black pants with tight black shirts and red heels. The waiters wear all black. A waiter escorts to a booth on the left side of the restaurant.

"You should apply here." Caroline looks around the interior of Half Life. Dim lights dangle from the ceiling and every table has a candle on it. _Not kid friendly,_ I think as I push the candle out of reach of Aubree. The last thing I need to do today is rush her to the hospital for third degree burns. "It's nice."

I nod. "Yeah. I'll get a job application when we leave." I sigh, instantly getting frustrated with my money situation. It's not even an option to not get a job, I need one. Money is extremely tight in the Gilbert family. Currently, Jenna and Jeremy are living off the money in my parents trust fund. That'll run out soon, though. Thank God, though, that Jenna set aside money to provide a good college education for me and Jeremy. I'm using that money, though, to pay for my living expenses. I hope that I can save up enough money so I can at least go to a little community college of sorts and get some kind of degree. I shudder, the thought of the future scares me to death.

Caroline speaks up. "He-whose-name-shall-not-be-said still pays monthly child support, right?" Caroline looks at the menu of Half Life. Aubree sits next to me, playing with a toy that I packed along in case she got bored.

"He isn't Voldemort." I roll my eyes, but can't help up crack a small smile. "And yes. But the checks are still coming in the mail to Jenna and she'll send the checks to me. I still have to contact the lawyers and get the addressed changed." I groaned, putting my head in my hands with my elbows on the table.

"Do you even know what happened to him? Like where he's living?" She asks curiously. The waiter comes and we order our drinks; apple juice for Aubree, water for Caroline, and Dr. Pepper for me.

After the waiter leaves, I answer Caroline. "No. When we get the check, it only has my address on it. I'm not allowed to have any contact with him and he's not allowed to have any contact with me." I sigh, thinking about how pathetic my life is. An absent baby daddy and broke. Aubree is expensive, and sometimes the child support that he pays doesn't cover it.

"But that's a good thing, isn't it? You don't need him." Caroline sounds like a broken record, repeating the same thing over and over again. _You're better off without him. You don't need him. Screw him. You'll find someone new, someone better. _I know she's just being a good friend, but I can't help but wish that she'd just back off. I'll take as much time as a need to get over someone and find someone new.

"I _know_ I don't need him." I say confidently. And it's so true. I don't need a man. The only person in life I need is Aubree.

Caroline grins and holds up her drink. "Here's to Elena Gilbert, living a douchebag-free life." I hold up my drink too and we gently hit our drinks together, making the sound _clink._ Aubree decides that she wants to join in and holds up her little cup of milk. Unfortunately, though, it doesn't make to our little cluster of cups and instead, she spills some all over the table.

Immediately, Aubree starts crying. I'm embarrassed, Aubree isn't a crier. She must be tired from all the shopping we've been doing. I always used to think that when babies cry in restaurants, it was because of bad parents. Now I seem like the bad parent. Caroline grabs a bunch of napkins from the dispenser and starts cleaning up the cold white liquid. I take to calming down Aubree. She keeps crying until I have to pick her up and set her on my lap. _Kids._

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

Katherine Pierce has the type of body that moves rhythmically down the street, making every man who lays eyes on her crave her touch. I'm the lucky man whose cravings get satisfied. That's right. Katherine Pierce is all mine. Her hand clutches onto mine as we make our way down Fifth Avenue, Katherine's favorite sight in all of New York City. "Babe?" She looks over at me, wearing her huge Coach sunglasses. Her hair is in loose, thin curls that fall down to her mid back. She's wearing a lovely pair of short shorts with black and white Aztec print that shows off her long, tan, wickedly sexy legs, white high heels, and a hot pink chiffon button up shirt. "I want to go into Louis Vuitton."

I grin. "Then let's go." I hold onto her hand tighter, proud to call her my girlfriend. No, our relationship isn't based simply on her looks. Of course, her looks are what drew me in. But her personality made me stay. She has spunk and she can be a bitch, but only to the people that cause her to be a bitch. I, thank the good Lord, am not one of those people who cause her to be a bitch. Together, we cross the busy street and go into the Louis Vuitton store.

Katherine is like a kid in a candy store in the Louis Vuitton store. She acts like she's never been here in her life. At our apartment, her closet is filled with Louis Vuitton handbags, Louis Vuitton shoes, her armoire is stuffed with Louis Vuitton bracelets and necklaces and earrings and rings. Hell, we even have sex with Louis Vuitton condoms.

We're in the store for what feels like hours. But I don't mind, anything to make my Katherine happy. Finally, she decides on Monogram Idylle 3 Golds Bracelet, resulting in a $4,100 decrease in my wallet. Katherine loves it and promises me something special tonight. I get tingly just thinking about it. After we finish checking out, a girl, probably about her mid-20s with long, straight golden hair and murky brown eyes, looks at Katherine. "Can I get a picture with you?"

Katherine smiles, flashing her white, straight teeth. "Of course." Then she turns to me. "Damon, honey? Can you hold my bag?" I nod and she gently hands me the tiny Louis Vuitton bag that contains the $4,100 bracelet I just purchased for her. Then Katherine turns back to the girl, wrapping her skinny arm around the girl's waist and both of them smile, while the blonde hair girl's friend snaps a picture of the two of them on her iPhone.

My girlfriend is a Victoria's Secret model. A famous one, at that. Pictures of her in sexy lingerie decorate New York City's billboards. But her body isn't only in New York, it covers Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. Plus cities in other countries. She's on commercials for Victoria's Secrets and she's always in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show every year. She's one of the most prized models in the business. A lot of people ask me if I get jealous or hate the fact that every man in America saw Katherine's body. I tell them that, sure everyone gets to see her almost nude body, but I'm the one that gets to touch it and see it completely nude.

I'm one lucky ass man.

After the blonde hair girl and her friend thank Katherine and leave, Katherine turns back to me. "Sorry about that, babe. But thank you so much for the bracelet. It's gorgeous. All the girls are going to love it when I go to Ontario in a few days."

I shake my head, smiling at her. "Anything for my princess." Then we kiss and I love the feeling of her juicy, lip glossed covered lips on mine. We don't care that we're in public. Let every man know that Katherine Pierce is mine. During our passionate kiss, Katherine gently bites my bottom lip. I'm definitely getting some _amazing_ tonight. I try my best not to fantasize about it, trying to prevent a bulge in my pants.

Katherine pulls away and looks at me, her finger making designs on my chest gently using her manicured finger nail. "I'm hungry. Why don't we go for a bite?" She grins. Her breath is cool against my throat. I look down at her and twirl a piece of her hair between my fingers.

"Let's go." We exit the Louis Vuitton store together. We walk down Fifth Avenue together, paparazzi snapping our photos together. They love us. Well, no. They love her. I can see why. She's absolutely gorgeous and sexy, but at the same time she can pull off the innocent act perfectly.

"I want to go there." She raises her hand and points to a little restaurant on the corner of the street called Half Life. I nod, knowing the reason why she would want to go there. It's rare for us to eat there. Normally, we're off eating at some fancy restaurant where the meal portions are the size of a 10 year-old's palm, instead we would fill our bellies up with wine imported from Italy. But Half Life is a nice little inexpensive restaurant, where you actually get a decent sized meal. Why don't we go here more often?

We go inside, the paparazzi stopping at the door. At least we can get some privacy in here. The waiter shows us to our table on the right side of the restaurant. We sit at the table with two seats. On the large TV hanging on the wall, the news is playing, talking about how gas prices are going to rise and shit that I clearly don't give a damn about. Katherine looks at the menu. "One thing I hate about having upcoming photo shoots is that I can't eat what I want to eat. I always have to eat something healthy."

"Screw it, Kat." I say. "Order what you want, you'll burn off those calories tonight." I smile. Being a Victoria's Secret model is hard work. It's not just prancing around in bra and panties all day while a photographer snaps pictures of you. Katherine works out every day a week for two hours. She's constantly making sure that she's eating healthy. She has to keep a nice tan. She can't get scraps or cuts or anything because that'll only put a damper on the photo shoots.

Katherine chuckles. "Fine, then. I'll order a nice, big, juicy steak and later-" We're interrupted by the sound of a baby wailing. Katherine looks over to see where the sound is coming from, but it's possible to see since the baby sounds like it's on the opposite side of the restaurant. Katherine purses her lips. "Aw, poor baby." She always had a soft spot for babies. She'll be an amazing mother one day. But, obviously not anytime soon, she can't get pregnant and risk losing that sexy body of hers. But maybe later in our lives, when she's a retired Victoria's Secret model and when we're both ready to have one. I smile to the thought of Katherine, her stomach swollen with a baby.

She talks more about her job, about how she's going to have to travel to Ontario then to Los Angeles and maybe even Miami. I listen to her, thinking about how lucky I am to have a women like her. I'm just eager to finish our meal and to get to tonight.

* * *

**Then****: Elena's POV**

"It's a pretty day outside, isn't it, Mrs. Salvatore?" Caroline giggles as the both of us walk down the main street in Mystic Falls, towards the Mystic Grill for lunch. I roll my eyes. She has been on my case all morning about Damon and how we shared a few words at the party last night.

"Shut up, Mrs. Mikaelson." I say as we enter the Mystic Grill. I head directly towards the table that we always sit at, right by the window so we can eat, talk, and people watch. In the summer in Virginia, it's too hot to do anything but to sit at the Mystic Grill, sipping on Clary's raspberry lemonade. Which I have been having strong cravings for lately. "We just talked for like two seconds. Let it go." I shrug.

"Like I said last night, he's totally into you."

"He's a senior, Caroline." I roll my eyes, looking at my own menu trying to decide what I want to eat. A cheeseburger with onion rings sound good. Paired with a glass of Clary's raspberry lemonade makes it sound perfect. I decide on that easily then close to my menu, looking up at Caroline who's still deciding on what she wants to eat.

"Klaus is a senior too." Caroline retorts.

I sigh, as she looks up at menu from the menu. "Caroline, can you just-"

I'm cut off by the rich voice that I know all too well from last night. I look up quickly to see Damon standing next to me. I bite my lip nervously. Did he just hear what he said? Oh God, that's so embarrassing. "Hello, ladies." He says and invites himself to sit on the extra chair at our table between Caroline and I. The coincidence alone is just bizarre. The only time I ever saw Damon outside of school was at the party. He never is around town. Caroline and Klaus must have conspired something. I make a mental note to yell at Caroline later.

"Hello, Damon." Caroline smiles. I don't say anything. I just nervously look down at my hands and fumble with my fingers. What do I say? What do I do? Caroline kicks my feet beneath the table.

"Hi," My voice croaks. I'm embarrassed by what I'm wearing - short denim shorts and a dark green tank top. I should've dressed a little nicer.

"I hate to interrupt. I was just picking up a peach cobbler for my father." He motions to do the peach cobbler that he set on the table. Then he turns his head and looks at me. "But, I'm so happy that I ran into you, Elena. I didn't have a chance to give you my number at the party last night. So," He takes out a piece of baby and scribbles his number down on it then pushes it in front of me on my table. "Call me sometime, huh?"

I nod dumbly.

"Well, I better go." Damon gets up from the table and grins at me. "I mean it, Lena, call me soon." He walks away from the table along with his peach cobbler and leaves the Mystic Grill. I'm blushing insanely now. I try to hide it by covering my cheeks with my hands.

Caroline nudges me. "Told you so."

* * *

**Woohoo! Chapter 2 is done. But I'm completely lacking in "Right and Wrong". You would think that it being my last chapter I would be done with it. Wrong. But I'll try to finish that ASAP. I had no motivation to write it and I've been loving this story too much.**

**In this story, "Now" takes place in modern day. "Then" takes place before Aubree was born. Just want to clear that up, although I think it is a little obvious.**

**In this chapter, we see that Elena really is struggling with money problems. But Damon, on the other hand, has all the money in the world. You can say that Elena is living a miserable life, when Damon is completely happy with his. They were so close, yet so far away in this chapter! Yes, the baby that Katherine and Damon heard crying was Aubree. Oh, the irony of it! **

**Please keep reading and reviewing. Love you all and thank you so much!**

**PS - Finals are coming up! I wish you all good luck on them if you're taking them! :)**

**Update: GUYS! I NEED YOUR HELP! So, a couple of months ago or so I ordered the City of Bones online. And it's still sitting on my bookshelf currently unread along with Harry Potter. I plan on doing some serious reading this summer. Anyway, City of Bones is part of the Mortal Instruments series right? Yeah. But then I was on Tumblr one day and saw some stuff about the Infernal Devices series by the same author. And, correct me if I'm wrong, the Infernal Devices is the prequel to the Mortal Instruments right? Which series should I read first? Also, how many books are in each series?**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3 - "Birthday Surprises" _

**Now****: Elena's POV**

"Mommy, why are we getting a cake?" Aubree asks curiously as Matt, her, and me hurry down the streets of the city, squeezing our way through the thick crowds. It's still hot July, but grey clouds fill up the sky, threatening to spit out rain at the drop of a hat. So, we're trying our best to hurry to get to Magnolia Bakery to find shelter and hopefully wait out the little rain that we're supposed to get. I hope it doesn't last too long.

"We have to get a cake for Aunt Caroline. It's her birthday and we're throwing her a party. But, shh-" He holds his pointer finger up to his lips, meaning to keep silent. "her party is a surprise party. So Aunt Caroline doesn't know and we can't tell her." Matt answers for me. I flash him a grateful look. Aubree would be eager to blurt out anything that I tell her, but it's a different story when it comes to Matt. I'm seriously considering for Matt to adopt her. But I know that I would never do that. That would mean that Matt and I have some sort of romantic relationship, and we don't. And we won't and we never have and we never will. Matt's like that big brother since childhood that made you eat worms as a prank. I'll never forget that day. A little piece of advice: worms will still wiggle once in your mouth and going down your throat.

"Oh, okay!" Aubree exclaims. She pretends to zipper her lips then throw the "key" away, something she picked up from me when Caroline would spill me all the details about her hookups with Tyler and things about Tyler. Sometimes too many details. I wish I could just block out everything she told me, there are certain things about Tyler that I don't want to know.

"Good girl, Aubs." I flash a smile down at her. I look up at Matt, who's looking on his phone. Probably for directions to this bakery. You would think we would know where Rockefeller Center is. Nope. Not at all. We got lost on the subway and ended up traveling 8 blocks south of where we should be. Obviously 8 blocks was too far to walk with a cranky 2 year old and with a rainstorm on it's way. But, so far so good with the whole rain thing. "Do you even know where this damn bakery is?" I ask, slightly annoyed. I'm tired and I have a long night ahead of me. I just want to go back to our apartment, shower, and maybe take a nap with Aubree. My feet ache from walking. I'm surprised Aubree hasn't complained about that yet. Matt chuckles and shakes his head.

Here's the plan for tonight. Caroline has been in New York City plenty of times before. While it's a near foreign place to the rest of us, Caroline knows this city like her own backyard. We're having dinner at her favorite restaurant which is spack-dab in the middle of Times Square. Her favorite cupcakes in the world are from Magnolia Bakery, which is located right in Rockefeller Center. Mine and Matt's job was to order and pick up the cupcakes. Tyler's job was to make reservations for the restaurant and decorate the little area of the restaurant in which we'll be celebrating with balloons and everything pink you could imagine. God, Aubree will be in her glory surrounded by pink.

"Here we are." Matt announces when he arrive at the corner of the block, right in front of Magnolia Bakery. We have to stand in the line that snakes around the front of the building and back down on the street. God, this cupcakes better be good if we're waiting this long for them. The line moves slowly and Aubree gets impatient. So Matt gets a brilliant idea to entertain her by trying to guess the color of the next car that drives past. What were the results? Aubree beat Matt, 23-8. Since he lost, Matt promised that he would buy Aubree a cupcake with pink frosting and pink sprinkles.

Of course, he lived up to his promise.

[...]

"Surprise!" We all shout as Caroline and Tyler enter the restaurant. Caroline, who thought she was just going out to dinner with Tyler for her birthday, looks completely surprised at the sight of the few of us. She looks gorgeous, of course, with her blonde waves pulled up in a loose up-do and she's wearing a lavish light yellow strapless dress that brings out her rosy blush and smoky eyes.

"Aw, guys!" Caroline blushes even more as she looks at Tyler, smiling wide at him. Playfully she punches his arm lightly, saying, "I never thought I would be the surprisee." Then the both of them kiss. Matt and I don't even roll our eyes at their PDA. It's Caroline's birthday, after all, let her kiss her boyfriend as much as she wants.

The little room we reserved in the back of the restaurant was decorated beautifully thanks to Tyler. Streamers and a sign that says, "Happy Birthday, Caroline!" in large pink letters line the walls. Pink balloons that are so light you can see right through them and spot glitter inside of them clutter the floor. Aubree is in her glory with the balloons. That's going to be a fun mess to clean up if she pops when. But, not the small group of us at the restaurant or the decorations is the biggest surprise for Caroline, it's her Mom. Caroline finally notices her and she rushes over to her Mom, hugging her tightly. It was my idea to ask Sherriff Forbes to come up to New York City to surprise her daughter. Of course she said yes. I smile, watching them have their little moment when Aubree pokes my shoulder.

"What's up, sweet bug?" I ask, turning my attention away from the lovely mother/daughter moment to my little baby girl. Deciding to go with the theme of the party, I dressed Aubree in all pink. She thinks she's absolutely gorgeous walking out with her zebra print pink pants and matching shirt. Her dark hair is tied up high in a pony tail, her long hair reaching the nape of her neck since her hair is gathered up at the top of her head.

"Mommy," Aubree crosses her pale, chubby arms across her chest. "I am not a buggy!"

I laugh softly. Aubree, 2-going-on-20. "Sorry, sweets. You're right, you're not a buggy. You're a beautiful, little princess." I say as I kiss her pink hot cheek. It is hot in this restaurant. Her little baby hairs at the top of her head are matted to her skin due to sweat. "What's up?" I repeat.

"Why do Aunty Caroline and Uncly Tyler kiss all the time?" She asks like a curious two year old would.

"Because they're grown-ups and they love each other." I answer her simply as I look over the children's menu. "Do you want chicken fingers or grilled cheese?" I ask her, happy that they actually have a children's menu. There was no way I was going to be able to feed Aubree spiced salmon.

"Grilled cheese," She says. "Mommy, did you ever kiss someone?" My eyes bulge at the question. Never would I think that my two year old daughter would be asking if I ever lip locked with someone. I can feel myself blushing now.

Tearing my eyes away from the menu, I look at my precious daughter with big blue eyes just like her father. "Yes, I have." I nod.

"Who?"

I sigh. Won't she ever stop with these questions? I could say just a guy, but that would only beg for more questions. So, I decide to tell her the truth. "Your Daddy."

Aubree breaks out into a big smile. It's rare that either of us bring him up, but she always gets excited when we do. What does Aubree know about her Daddy? Well, as soon as he left our lives, I asked Jenna how I would possibly explain the situation to her when the time comes. I followed Jenna's advice and told her that her Daddy had to go away for a while, on a trip. I even showed her pictures of him, telling her that they have the same eyes. That only makes Aubree more happy. It's a touchy subject and I think that Aubree suspects that. When she's older, I'll tell her the truth, though.

"Mommy?" My favorite voice says. "Will you ever kiss someone other than my Daddy?" I'm taken back by this question. She knows that adults kiss people when they love each other. Is she giving me permission to love another man besides her Daddy?

I bit my lip. "Maybe. We'll have to see."

Aubree nods as I run my fingers lightly through her hair in her pony tail. "Mommy?"

"Yeah?"

"Will I ever get to see my Daddy?"

I manage a small smile but I can feel my heart breaking. "Maybe," I lie.

Our sad little moment is rudely interrupted by the ringing of my cell phone. I pull my nearly broken phone out of my bag and don't recognize the number, but I feel like it's someone important. I stand up. "Aubree, stay here. I have to talk to someone on the phone." I leave the nosiy little restaurant and step outside into the sticky night air quickly. I answer the phone, "Hello? This is Elena Gilbert."

"Ah, hello, Miss Gilbert. This is Stan Jones, the owner of Half Life." A rough voice says into the phone. I can't help but smile.

"Oh, nice to talk to you, Mr. Jones." I say into the phone, eager to see what he has to say.

"You too, Miss Gilbert. Anyway, I was calling to tell you that I reviewed my resume and I would like to offer you the job at Half Life. If you still are willing to work here, could you come here in about two weeks, on Tuesday the 3rd?"

"Of course, Mr. Jones. I'll see you then." We hang up and I smile more. I'm finally getting on my feet. I have my own apartment, well an apartment that I'm contributing rent to and a job now. Maybe I'm not doomed after all.

* * *

**Now: Damon's POV**

One of my favorite things about New York City is the night life. Even though it's only eight o'clock, New York's finest night clubs and bars are bustling. They'll be even busier as midnight inches closer. I walk down the streets of the city with my little brother right next to me. While I'm undoubtly the better looking of the two Salvatore brothers, Stefan is the smarter of us. Even though it's summer, he's been working on extra credit and ridiculous summer reading list. So, I decided that it would be the best to force him into taking a break from his school work and taking him out.

"You do know that I can't go into any bars, right? I'm not 21." Stefan says as he catches me eyeing my favorite bar that sits just across the street. Technically, I'm not supposed to be in any bars since I'm a lawyer and someone could easily snap a photograph of me drunk and then no one would go to the Salvatore Law Office. So far, though, no one gave a crap that I was drinking away my problems with bourbon.

I roll my eyes at my book smart yet stupid younger brother. "Clearly." I sigh, shaking my head. "Where do you want to go then? Sports bar? Everyone is allowed in those." He replies with a nod and we take off towards the nearest sports bar I can think of. Baseball should be on tonight. New York Yankees vs. the Pennsylvania Phillies. Should be a good came, granted that the Yankees will kill the Phillies easily. My heart skips a beat when I remember the Yankee game Katherine and I attended. She wore white short shorts and one of those Yankees shirts from the baseball collection from Victoria's Secret with a matching navy thong...

Needless to say, that was a fun night. And it wasn't just the baseball.

A few minutes later, we go into the sports bar and grab the last two seats the bar. The hot bartender comes to us. I order just a Miller Light, I wasn't in the mood for bourbon tonight. Stefan just asks for a water. I'm not positive, but I think that the bartender winked at me. Doesn't she know that I'm head over heels in love with Katherine Pierce, the Victoria's Secret model? Guess not.

"So, everything with you and Katherine okay?" Stefan asks, taking a sip of his water. Surely he could pass for twenty one and I highly doubt that the bartender would want to see his ID. He could easily obtain a beer or two here. Lightweight.

I nod once, taking a long sip of my beer. "Yep. Better than ever." I pause, thinking. "What about you? Any lucky ladies?"

Stefan chuckles, shaking his head. "Nah, not anyone who catches my interest. Besides, you know how Dad is with the whole dating while in school thing. A rule that he enforced for me because of you." He nudges me as he gulps down another swig of his water.

I freeze. Stefan knows that he shouldn't bring up _that_ topic. I finish the rest of my beer in one, long, gulp and look over at Stefan. "You know I don't like talking about that." I mutter, hoping that he'll get the hint to shut up. But since he's a Salvatore, he never shuts up. Probably why the Salvatores are the greatest lawyers in all of Manhattan.

"Sorry," Stefan murmurs. "But...do you hear anything at all from her?" He says so quietly I can barely hear him. Apparently, knocking up a girl in high school is the worst thing possible that can happen to the rich, famous Salvatore family.

I sigh, pushing my empty beer bottle to the edge of the counter. The bartender gets the hint and retrieves me a new one. "No, I haven't. You remember the deal Dad forced us to agree with. 'No contact whatsoever with Miss Gilbert or Miss Aubree Salvatore. Each month Miss Gilbert will receive a child-support check from Mr. Salvatore to provide finically for their daughter.'" I roll my eyes. I read that legal document so many times that the words have been burned into my brain.

"I'm sure they're doing fine," Stefan tries to assure me. But I have my doubts. "Can't you even know what they're up to? I mean...what if Elena and Aubree moved across the world to China? Shouldn't you at least have the right to know where your daughter is?"

"Nope, nothing. Since Elena and I had to sign that document, I officially gave over all my fatherly rights. For all I know, Elena and Aubree can be living in Timbuktu right now, wearing scraps for clothes and eating slugs for dinner." I sigh, running my hands through my hair. Anger rises in my voice. I flinch. When was he last time I said their names so many times? Elena, Elena, Elena. Aubree, Aubree, Aubree.

"Okay, let's just say that Dad grows a heart and lets you see Elena and Aubree. Would you even want to?" Stefan reaches over and grabs my beer and takes a small sip. Hey, at least it's a sip. My little brother, the hardcore rebel.

I purse my lips. I have asked myself this question plenty of times and I always came to the same conclusion. "No," I say firmly. "What Elena and I had was a simply a high school relationship. Not cut out for the real world. Unlike most high school relationships, though, we got Aubree out of it. I don't love Elena. Not anymore." I let the words swim right out of my mouth, not even thinking about the last words I said. "Anyway, I have Katherine and she's the love of my life."

"Are you ever going to tell Katherine about Aubree and Elena?" Stefan asks.

I shake my head quickly. "No. We're not even supposed to be talking about it, that's Dad's rule but you know that I don't give a shit about Dad's rules anymore. Despite my hatred for Dad's rules, I still just don't want to tell Katherine."

Stefan sighs but nods. I wonder if this whole situation is hard for him too, it has to be. I try not to think of that cursed July 2nd day. Stefan was almost as heartbroken as I was when my Dad announced the "great" news. Great news my ass. Although, moving to New York City had it's perks. I met Katherine, the love of my life. Maybe my Dad wasn't being such a cruel father after all. He wanted what was best for me and what I had in Mystic Falls wasn't what was best for me, right?

My phone buzzes and I pull it out to see who it is. It's not other than the love of my life.

**Hey! Got an earlier flight home. Pick me up at the airport around midnight?**

**Love you :)**

I look up at Stefan. "Katherine's coming home tonight. I have to get her at the airport, so, we have to cut this little brotherly date short." Stefan and I stand up and leave the money for our drinks. We start walking back down the sidewalk, easily blending in with the crowd. We get back in my car that's parked a few blocks down and I drive Stefan back to the apartment that he shares with our father.

Stefan goes to get out of the car but pauses and looks at me. "Look, what you and Elena had wasn't just some silly high school relationship. Even though it was rough and didn't last too long, I know you loved her. And I know how much she loved you."

I nod. "Goodnight, Stefan."

"Night," He replies then leaves.

* * *

**Then****: Elena's POV**

Caroline is my best friend is whole world, but I absolutely hate her when it comes to party planning. It's June 22nd, my sixteenth birthday. I told her that I didn't want anything special. Maybe just a few friends over with a few cupcakes and scary movies and a sleepover. But, no, as Caroline argued it's my sixteenth birthday so I had to go for something spectacular.

So, when I arrived at the Forbes's house that evening, I was completely shocked that as soon as I stepped in the door, people all around me shouted, "Surprise!" I nearly peed myself right there and then. Stuffed in Caroline's narrow house were faces of friends and classmates from school. Standing right in the middle of all of them was Caroline, with a huge smile on her face and Klaus standing right next to her. Immediately, she engulfed me in a tight hug.

"Caroline," I laugh as she squeezed me tightly. "You didn't have to do all of this, honestly. Thank you so much." I smile as we pull away from the hug. Thankfully, I dressed somewhat nicely. I had on a denim short shorts and a bright red shirt that showed off some of my cleavage. It was simple, but it was nearly the same as what everyone else was wearing.

"Of course I had to do this. You are my best friend and I love you and you deserve the best party you can get." She replies. I look around at all the smiling faces of my friends. I recognize Sarah from History, Ben from Biology, and Danny from Geometry. I know most of these people are here just for sympathy. Attending the poor orphan girl's birthday party. But I'm grateful, and not just because of the large stash of presents and cards I can see on the table in the living room. I'm especially grateful to Caroline for planning all of this.

"Thank you," I repeat because I felt that it was needed.

This time, though, Klaus speaks up. "Happy Birthday, dear Elena." He takes my hand and kisses it. I guess it's some British thing. I'm sure he doesn't do it to any other girls because Caroline would probably flip.

"Thank you, Klaus." I smile.

"Let's get this party started, shall we?" Caroline giggles and she clicks some remote and music starts playing instantly from her iPod doc.

[...]

Three hours later and I'm absolutely exhausted and sweating from all the people and dancing and faking smiles. So, I manage to escape the watchful eye of Caroline and go outside to her small back deck which is free of partygoers. I can still hear the music playing from inside, but it isn't as allowed as it was inside. Looking around at the forest view from Caroline's deck, breathing in the cool, Mystic Falls summer air, enjoying the nightly breeze on my hot skin. I look up at the sky that's clustered with stars. "Hi, Mommy. Hi, Daddy." I whisper into the night, because I know that they can hear me.

Sixteen years ago, I was fully dependent on those two people. Now, here I am, knowing just how hard it is to be a teenager living without her parents. Even though what happened to them was an accident, I'm still angry. Angry at them for not being able to find a way of their water sunken car. Angry at fate for causing them to drive off that bridge. Angry at God for not saving them in time. I made a silent promise to myself that when I have kids, I'll be there for them always because I know what it's like to be parentless. And I'll make sure to tell them stories about their wise grandpa and their nurturing grandma.

Behind me, I can hear the French doors open and close. Thinking it's Caroline coming out to order me back inside to enjoy my party, I sigh and turn around quickly. But, no, it's not Caroline or Klaus or Sarah or Ben or Danny. It's Damon. "Hi," I say quietly, smiling a genuine smile this time. Slowly, Damon walks over next to me and leans against the rail on the porch, a few inches from me.

"You never texted me." He grins.

I blush, looking down at my pale pink painted toes. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I-I just...I didn't know what to say." I mumble. I have contemplated sending a message to Damon, but nerves one over and it always ended up with my phone laying on the coffee table and Caroline scolding me about how I need to put myself out there for guys, that not every guy is just going to come running towards me.

"Well, then, you better make it up to me." He straightens up as a slow song starts playing. Instantly, I know it's "I Will Be" by Leona Lewis. I bit my lip nervously, my palms sweating quickly. He holds out his hand and I take it.

_There's nothing I could say to you_

_Nothing I could ever do to make you see_

_What you mean to me_

_All the pain, the tears I cried_

_Still you never said goodbye and now I know_

_How far you'd go_

_I know I let you down but it's not like that now_

_This time I'll never let you go  
_  
_I will be all that you want and get myself together_

_'Cause you keep me from falling apart_

_All my life, I'll be with you forever_

_To get you through the day and make everything okay_

My hands are on his shoulders, his hands are on my waist. His touch is light, gentle, with just the perfect amount of sexual tension. Slowly, I rest my head against his shoulder and simply wrap my arms around him. He holds me close and I inhale his creamy scent. This moment is perfect, I think. Our bodies move slowly against each other's. Right now, I can't imagine dancing with anyone else. "Elena?" Damon whispers.

_I thought that I had everything_

_I didn't know what life could bring_

_But now I see, honestly_

_You're the one thing I got right_

_The only one I let inside_

_Now I can breathe 'cause you're here with me  
_  
_And if I let you down, I'll turn it all around_

_'Cause I would never let you go  
_  
_I will be all that you want and get myself together_

_'Cause you keep me from falling apart_

_And all my life, I'll be with you forever_

_To get you through the day and make everything okay_

_Without you I can't breathe_

_I'm not gonna ever, ever let you leave_

_You're all I got, you're all I want, oh_

_'Cause without you I don't know what I'd do_

_I can never, ever live a day without you_

_Here with me, do you see you're all I need?_

"Hmm?" I look up at him, my heart pounding. Without thinking, my eyes dart to his pale pink lips. And slowly and romantically, he leans in. Our lips graze each other's until we both apply equal amount of pressure to make it an official kiss. I hope he can't hear my heart beating rapidly in my chest. Eyes closed, lips touching, his hands on his my waist, mine pressed up against his chest.

_And I will be, all that you want and get myself together'_

_Cause you keep me from falling apart_

_And all my life, I'll be with you forever_

_To get you through the day and make everything okay  
_  
_I will be all that you want and get myself together_

_'Cause you keep me from falling apart_

_And all my life, I'll be with you forever_

_To get you through the day and make everything okay_

We stay kissing for a while, soft and slow, never pushy or aggressive. After the song comes to and end and our lips part, Damon whispers in my ear so gentle that it gives me goosebumps on the back of my neck. "Happy Birthday, Lena."

* * *

**Another chapter done! So, for the end, I went with "I Will Be" because it was released in 2009. In the story, the "Then" parts take place in 2009 so I couldn't go with Ed Sheeran as I wanted to. I wanted to keep the story as real as possible. And I don't remember much from 2009 but "I Will Be" was a pretty big romantic song, right? I hope so...**

**AS FOR NEXT CHAPTER - I will be introducing another character and he/she is going to have a pretty big role in the rest of the story.**

**For all you dying to know, we found out why Damon left Elena and Aubree. Because of that damn Italian father of his. Obviously, this is going to create a lot more conflict. Woohoo!**

**So, I'm done school in like 10ish days. Finally. I hate school and I cannot wait for it to be over. I don't know if I'll be able to update in those ten days or so, but once summer comes I'll be able to update much faster. Bare with me for the next ten days, alright? This story is going places and I want it to feel real so I'm going to take my time with the whole Damon/Elena thing. There is much more going to happen in the upcoming chapters and I can't wait to write it.**

**Thank you all so much! Please read and review and favorite and follow! Love you!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4 - LA or Bust_

**Now****: Elena's POV**

August came quickly, but the heat didn't go anywhere. The five of us usually resorted to staying in the air-conditioned apartment of ours. I even let Aubree run around the apartment naked a few days since it was too hot for clothes for her. One of the perks of being two. For Matt, Caroline, and Tyler, college doesn't start up until September. And since I didn't start my job until now, we had a few weeks of laziness. Meaning, sleeping in until ten, eating nonstop takeout, and having movie marathons, which of course included some of Aubree's favorite movies. I'm pretty sure I can recite all the words of The Little Mermaid.

"Are you sure she'll be okay?" I ask the morning of August 3rd, AKA the day when I'm being forced back into the land of adulthood. Since Matt doesn't start college yet, he offered to watch her until his classes started. Of course, I happily agreed. Daycares are expensive and I'm not looking forward for the huge bill and having to drop my baby girl off with strangers.

Matt nods. "Of course, Elena. You know that I won't let anything happen to her." Matt assures me as he places his sweaty hand on the small of my back. It's strange being in my official work uniform: black tight leggings, another tight black V-neck, and red heels that weren't too high. I borrowed the heels from Caroline since my shoe wardrobe only consisted of sneakers, flats, and flip-flops. My long, thick hair is pulled up from my neck in a high pony tail.

I take a deep breath. This is the longest I'll ever be away from Aubree. "I'll call you on my breaks, alright? And I'll have my phone with me at all times, if there's a problem just text me and I'll be home in-"

"Everything will be fine." He cuts me off. I turn my head and look over into our apartment living room where Aubree is playing innocently with her toys. The heat isn't so bad today, but I think that's because of the rainy weather. You know, it's the most miserable type of rainy weather because it's not really raining, but the air is wet and sticky and it feels like it's raining. The TV is on and playing some kid show that I have yet to learn the name of. Biting my lip, I walk over to Aubree and kneel down next to her.

"Hey, sweetie." I say soothingly as I run my fingers lightly through her mahogany hair. She looks up at him, her blue eyes somehow making the day brighter for me. That's the amazing ability children have. I smile at her. "Whatcha' doing?" I ask curiously.

Aubree answers, "I playin' with me dollies. Dis one is-" She holds up one of her Barbie Dolls that has long, choppy blonde hair. "Maddie. And dis one-" She points to her other doll, the one that's lying half naked on her stomach on the furry carpet. "is Sally." I recognize both of the names from some television show that greatly amuses her. "Want to play with me, Mommy?"

I sigh heavily. I told her I had work, but I don't think she knew what I met by that. "I can't. I have to work, remember? Matt is going to watch you." I look over my shoulder at Matt, sweet like honey. He's smiling at us. I can't help but to think that this should be my life. I should be going off to work, saying goodbye to my daughter, living in our apartment in New York City, while my husband, or in this case, Matt, watches us. Damon should be in Matt's position. My heart skips a beat at his name. _Damon._ When was the last time I said his name aloud?

"Oh. Okay." She replies like it's nothing that I'm leaving her. I can't help but feel a bit sad. I kind of wanted her to cling to my leg, screaming and crying and begging me not to go. Jenna says that once she's older, leaving her will get harder until she hits around 8 or 9 then she'll want to leave. If she can't be a Daddy's Girl, then I at least want her to be a Mommy's Girl. So, I plant a gentle kiss on the top of her head, grab my bag, thank Matt one last time, then head off to Half Life for my first day as an official working adult.

[...]

"Ah, you must be Miss Gilbert?" Stan, the owner of Half Life, says to me as I enter his office, which is in the back of the restaurant right next to the kitchen. I'm sitting uncomfortably in the hard cherry chair that was right in front of his desk. Stan was a big man and I don't mean muscular. Fat was packed on his bones thickly, but I guess that's what happens when you're the owner of a restaurant. It's like a free all-you-can-eat-buffet all the time.

I nod once, smiling nervously. "Yes, that's mean. But you can call me Elena." I offer quickly. He reaches his flabby hand out and I raise my slender arm and we shake hands. I'm scared that my palms are going to be all sweaty due to nerves, but he doesn't grimace or anything as our flesh touches so I guess I'm good.

Stan smiles, the apples of his cheeks are constantly rosy. He seems like a sweet man, probably in his mid-50s. Not the type of boss you should be nervous about, but I am anyway. "Very well, then, Elena." I didn't even know it was possible for him to smile wider, but he does. "Anyway, I'm going to have one of my best waiters show you the trade." I didn't know waitressing would count as a trade, but I of course wasn't going to say anything.

There's a knock at the door and before Stan could welcome the person in the room, the door flung open and a male, no older than twenty-two stood in the doorway. He had dark blond hair and piercing brown eyes. I watch him as he strolls casually into the room. "You wanted to see me, Stan?" The guys says. I'm surprised that he called our boss by his first name. This mystery man is obviously a waiter here since he's dressed in the Half Life uniform.

"Yes, Liam, we have a new worker here, Elena Gilbert. I was hoping that you would be able to let her shadow you for the day." Stan says. Liam watches me as Stan speaks to him and once Stan's finished talking, Liam nods but never looking in Stan's direction. Liam smiles at me, revealing his straight, pearly white teeth.

I stand up quickly. If my palms weren't sweating before, they definitely are now. Liam is beyond handsome. He isn't hot, like most girls would describe guys. He is handsome, the kind of handsome that princes in Disney movies are described. He has a stocky built, wide shoulders and strong arms. He looks like the type of guy you don't want to get pissed off, but something in his creamy brown eyes tell me he's gentle. "Hi," I flash him a smile.

"Hey," Liam smiles back. Together, we leave Stan's office and go out towards the part of the restaurant where the guests dine. I think he can tell how nervous I am because he says, "This job is pretty easy. The customers are nice, most of the time. Plus, they're all rich since they're shopping on Fifth Avenue. Makes for some lovely tips." Immediately, I knew I liked Liam's laidback attitude. I'm sure he was that guy in high school who rarely attended his classes, but all the teachers loved him anyway.

I manage out a thick chuckle. "Yeah, big tips are always nice." I chew my bottom lip, a nervous habit of mine. Despite Liam's looks and personality, I wasn't too excited about following him around all day like a lost puppy. I want to be independent. It's waitressing, how hard could it possibly be? But, of course, I wasn't going to argue Stan and I'm eager to talking to Liam more, which is just icing on the cake.

He nods as he rests his elbows behind him back on the bar. The restaurant was empty since it wasn't even opened yet, it was still pretty early in the morning. A few other workers hustle around to get things ready for the day. I think that Liam and I should be doing something to help them, but Liam just pretends that they aren't doing anything so I don't say anything. "So, are you part of the college rush?" He asks.

"The what?" I arch one of my dark eyebrows at him.

"The college rush. You know, the huge group of people who move up here to the city for college and are in the desperate need of jobs." He says casually. I wonder how long he's been working here. Probably a while since he's on a first name basis with our boss.

I shake my head. "Oh, uh, no. Well, not really. My friends and I moved up here from Virginia. They're going to college, I'm not." Great, I think, I just made myself sound like a total idiot. Like he really cares where I moved from? And he probably thinks I'm stupid for not attending college like the rest of my friends. I'm tempted to talk about Aubree with him, but I don't want him to know I'm a young mom just yet. I'm not ashamed of Aubree, I just don't think it's an ideal topic for a first conversation.

Liam simply shrugs and nods. "Ah, a southern girl. You don't have an accent, which is quite a bummer because southern accents are pretty cute. As long as the person with the accent still has all their teeth." I laugh a little. I'm relieved that he didn't ask me why I'm not going to college. But then I realize it's probably just because he doesn't care. He probably helped a lot of newbies at Half Life. To him, I'm probably just another new worker. Nothing special.

"No, no one from where I'm from has an accent. That's farther south, like Oklahoma or Alabama." I smile at him. "But, in all honesty, when I think of a southern accent, I think of an old, wrinkly guy with a messy beard and missing teeth who thinks the Civil War is still going on." I say. I wonder what Caroline would think when he finds out I have a handsome new coworker. _Shag him already, Elena!_ I imagine her saying.

This wins a laugh from Liam. "Now, _that's_ very stereotypical. Especially of your own kind."

"My own kind?" I raise both eyebrows at him. "Southerners aren't some type of animal you find at the zoo. We're the best people you'll ever meet. Didn't you ever hear of southern hospitality?" I grin at him, gently nudging him with my elbow in his rib.

He jokingly scoffs. "Southerners aren't the best people you'll ever meet! New Yorkers are! I should know because I'm one of them," He grins too and also nudges me in my ribs with his elbow.

I'm surprised at how easily I can talk with another guy. I can joke around with him, be myself. I wasn't able to do this since Damon. During that day, the thought of dating Liam crossed my mind plenty of times. But who would go for a damaged girl like me? I come with too much baggage, too much pain, too much heartbreak. Besides, Liam is the type of guy a model can get.

* * *

**Now****: Damon's** **POV**

"Damon!" Katherine squeals. "Get off of me! We have to finish packing-" She erupts into a cascade of giggles before she can even finish her sentence. That's thanks of me, of course. We're laying in our bed together as I tickle her stomach, the part on her body that is the most ticklish. Her giggle is like a child's and I can't help but smirk at my beautiful girlfriend, her dark curls knotting together as we roll around on our bed together.

She really is the most beautiful girl in the world. From her tiny toes to her slender curves, to her dark curly mane. She looks gorgeous without even trying. She considers herself ugly when she's lying around the house in yoga pants, a tight camisole, and when her hair is twisted up in a knot. But that's when she's most gorgeous. It has to be a sin for someone as mesmerizing as her to call themselves ugly. I know, though, that she knows she isn't ugly. Her confidence is through the roof, she _is_ a Victoria's Secret model. It's just a clever trick of hers so I can give her more attention, as if I didn't already sell my soul to her.

"Stop staring at me," She giggles more. "It's creepy." I reach up and gently brush away a piece of curly hair that was trapped in her long, thick, black eyelashes and just still stare at her, admiring her beauty. She rolls her catlike brown eyes and sits up, crosses her arms right beneath her black lacy bra, where her nipples are peaking through the mesh material. "We're going to be late for our plane all because of you."

I simply chuckle and sit up too, wrapping my arms around her thin body. "Hey, it's not all my fault. You are perfectly capable of climbing out of our bed and packing for yourself. But, you choose to stay here with me and I can't complain." I grin.

"But, seriously, we can lay around like this all day if we want in LA. We really have to finish packing." Finally, she pushes the puffy white duvet from her tan body and gets up, walking around our room in her bra and panties like it was nothing. I'm not complaining, obviously. I stand up too, and I'm just wearing my underwear as well.

Katherine goes over to her walk-in closet and comes out with two pairs of high heels. One is extremely high red shoes with plenty of straps and the other one is almost identical but it's a hot pink color instead. "Which ones?" She asks, holding them both up so I can see.

"Red." I smirk.

[...]

The next day, we were lounging carelessly on the beach chairs that line the in ground pool at our hotel in Los Angeles. Katherine is wearing a navy blue bikini, the top is strapless with sequins between her breasts, which only make them look bigger. I'm wearing a black speedo, at Kat's request. She lays on the beach chair, her body oily with tanning lotion and long waves resting down against her arms and across her shoulders. It's hot in LA and I'm really considering going for a quick dip in the pool, even though it's rare for me to swim.

We decided to go out to LA for a few days and Katherine has some photo shoots she has to attend here, plus a party on Friday night that her and all the other Victoria's Secret models will be attending. It should be a nice little vacation for me, but my father made sure that I brought my brief case with me so I can work on cases while I'm away. As if I don't already work full time while I'm not on vacation. So, while Katherine is off taking photos in nothing but a bra and underwear, a show that I would very much enjoy, I'll be sitting in our hotel room cursing my father while working on cases. Oh, joy.

My eyes spring open when I feel Katherine's nudge. I look over at her, but she's looking across the pool. I follow her gaze over to a little girl, her dark hair tied up in a pony tail and her eyes are big and brown. "She's cute, huh?" Katherine smiles as she looks over at me.

"The cutest." I confirm, still watching the little girl as she jumps into the pool with her big, orange floaties on. I swallow hard, I can't help but imaging that that little girl should be Aubree. That the woman laying next to be should be Elena. A perfect little family on a perfect little vacation living the perfect little life. Sounds perfect, huh? But I can't think those thoughts because that isn't my life, that isn't what I want my life to be. I have Katherine and she's all that I need for now.

"In a few years, maybe we'll be back here with our little girl." Katherine smiles. That's her not-so-subtle way of saying, "_We're getting married and you better knock me up soon._" I just nod, still watching that little girl as she swims around the pool, laughing as her father splashes her gently. Then I feel this weird sensation in my chest.

Katherine doesn't know about Aubree, doesn't know about Elena. All she thinks is that my high school years were filled with parties and drinking and friends and sex. Which they were, but only for the first three years. The last year was dedicated to my pregnant girlfriend and saving up cash to buy a crib and stock up on diapers. That last year wasn't bad, though, not at all. Elena has this sort of liveliness to her while she was pregnant, something that she didn't have when we first met. When they lowered the caskets of her parents into the ground, a part of her went with them. She was like a shell of a human when we met. Then, we started talking and fell in love and created Aubree and she laughed. She laughed all the time and smiled and giggled and her eyes lit up whenever I would talk babies. But I can't reminiscence on the past because the past is dead.

"Maybe," I nod, finally answering Katherine back after being deep in thought.

Once again, I think about telling her about Aubree and Elena. Obviously, I will assure her that what Elena and I had doesn't compare at all to what we have and that I have no feelings left over to Elena whatsoever. No, that doesn't make me a bad guy for saying that because go on, ask any man in their twenties who is in her love with their girlfriend about a high school sweetheart of theirs. I can almost guarantee that they will all say that they don't love their high school sweetheart anymore. Because people grow up and feelings change and that's life. What would Katherine think if I told her that I fathered a little girl? Would she be angry, upset, happy? She can't possibly be mad at me for having a kid with someone I knew long before I met her, she knows that I was a bit of a man-whore in my high school years. Same goes for her, I might add. She might be angry or upset that I didn't tell her. But how do you even tell someone that? "Oh, by the way, I knocked up a girl in high school and I forgot to tell you that we have a daughter together. Sorry. Look, the game's on." Maybe I'll tell her one day, eventually. But, today, nothing is going to ruin our lovely atmosphere.

* * *

**Then****: Elena's POV**

My heart was beating quickly in my chest, even though the reason was pretty stupid. Damon Salvatore, A.K.A my official boyfriend, was coming over today. We've been dating for a while now and Jenna and Jeremy have been dying to meet him. I'm cautious when it comes to spending time with him, and I think that gets on his nerves. He wants to spend some alone time with me _in his bedroom_. The thought of laying on a bed with Damon makes my sweat glands over work and my heart race.

The doorbell rings and I practically jump. Jeremy runs in from the kitchen. "Your boyfriend is here!" He grins, he's eager to make a fool out of me. I get up quickly and try to beat my younger brother to the door but since he's a football player, he's faster and swings the door open before me, just as I grab onto his arm, an unsuccessful try to stop him.

Damon sees us and smiles while I quickly blush and drop my grip on Jeremy's arm. God, I must look like such an idiot. "Hello, Elena." He says and gives me a quick peck on my lips. Then, before Jeremy can say anything about our small smooch, Damon turns to him and says, "You must be Jeremy, Elena's brother." He holds out his hand. "I'm Damon Salvatore."

The two boys shake their hands when Jenna comes into the kitchen. She smiles and I try not to look so nervous. I let the little fact that Damon's a senior slide, not wanting to listen to her warn me about dating older men. But I liked dating older men. Dating is experimenting. You learn what you do and what you don't like in a partner. "Hello, Damon. It's so nice to meet, Elena has told me a lot about you." Jenna smiles as she too shakes hands with Damon.

"All good, I hope." Damon smiles. He told me not to worry about his little meeting with my family. He says that all adults love him and that his father is a lawyer, so he's good with words and manipulating people. The four of us move into the living room. Jenna sits on the chair, Jeremy sits on the other chair, both are facing the couch at Damon and I are sitting on.

"So, Damon, tell me about yourself." Jenna says, trying to be the typical mother figure. I bite my lip so hard I have a feeling I might taste blood. I adjust my position so I'm sitting on my hands so they won't shake. Something about Damon just makes me so nervous, I can't imagine that every guy I date is going to be this way. My heart is beating so loudly I'm afraid they'll hear it.

"Well, Miss Sommers, I'm a senior at Mystic Falls and after I'm done school, I plan on going to Harvard like my father did and become a lawyer." Damon says and Jenna nods in instant approval. I know what she must be thinking; _A Harvard boyfriend, you have an amazing choice in men, Elena_. "Oh, and I don't mean to brag or anything, but I'm pretty good in Call of Duty." He chuckles.

That gained Jeremy's approval. "Prove it." He points to his Xbox 360. I roll my eyes, I should've known that Jeremy would somehow manage to find a gamer in my new lawyer boyfriend.

[...]

Two hours later, after I force Damon to get away from the controller, we go upstairs to my bed together. Jeremy has another friend over to play Call of Duty with and Jenna is in the kitchen with her boyfriend, probably making out while they cook dinner. As nervous as I am around him, I want to be with him more. I want to be closer to Damon. I want to feel the gentle touch of his big hands on my small hips. I want him to kiss me.

"Sorry about my brother," I say. "I know he's pretty annoying." Damon wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him. His eyes are intense and makes me feel like I could erupt into flames at a moment's notice. Gently, he brushes down my hair on the side of my face. I hope that all my dirty clothes are picked up from the floor.

"Don't apologize. Your brother is cool. Your aunt is sweet. And you're unbelievably gorgeous," He whispers then kisses me gently. I kiss him back, my hands moving and they wrap around his body so our bodies are entwining.

We kiss for a while then his lips slowly trace my jawline and down my neck, planting sweet kisses down and he eventually gets to my chest. We move to my bed and we lay down on in, him laying on top of me. His breathing fastens and my heart beat fastens, which I didn't even know was possible. Without asking for my permission, he slowly pulls my shift off and tosses it to the ground. I'm glad I chose to wear my light pink lacy bra today, it's the sexiest one I own. Caroline was with me when I bought it.

Since my shirt is off, it's only right to take his shirt off too. So, I do. Then I look at his muscles that look sculpted, like his lips. He kisses his way down my body until he comes to a stop at the beginning of my jeans. Slowly, his hands reach out to unbutton them but my hands quickly interrupted his. I shake my head, "Don't," I whisper.

I can see the disappointment in his eyes, but he nods and moves his way back up to my lips. We kiss for a while longer, eyes closed, his hands on the sides of my stomach. But, his hands work their way up and gently squeeze my one breast. My eyes shoot open. My body is tense and I know he can sense that because he kisses me more gently, but his hand is still firm on my breast. His other hand comes down to my crotch is and he puts his hand there. It takes me a few minutes to relax, but his touch feels amazing. Enough to make me want more, but there's a nagging part in me that tells me not to go any farther. Not tonight, at least.

Damon leaves at around ten that night. After he left, I put on my pajama short shorts, a camisole, and pulled on my Mystic Falls Timberwolves hoodie then I climbed into bed. He had this way of making me feel like I'm the only woman in the world. He makes me feel special, like I deserve to be loved. I love Damon, I really do. I don't care if we've only been dating for a few weeks, I love him.

**Sorry it took me so long to update! Honestly, I had horrible writer's block with this chapter. I'm officially done school so if I don't update faster, you have full permission to scream at me until I do. **

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Every review I get makes me feel much better about my writing and this story. **

**Next chapter - ACTION! If you know what I mean... Hehe.**


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5 - "Coffee for Two"_

**Now****: Elena's POV**

The heat is finally starting to disperse as September comes rolling into all of our lives. It's such strange weather, one day it's hot and you're sweating and you're walking around the streets with short shorts and a tank top, and the next day, you're forced into wearing jeans and a light hoodie. Since it's now September, it's also the start of college for Matt, Tyler, and Caroline.

On Monday, September 7th, was the first day that I'll be having to take Aubree to daycare since Matt has his classes today. I went with a daycare that wasn't too far from Matt's college for two reasons: one, there wasn't any daycares close to Half Life and, two, if there was an emergency, Matt's the only one I fully trust with Aubree. I hold Aubree's petite hand as we walk into the daycare. After I drop her off, I'll have to take the subway down to Fifth Avenue and the clock is ticking, I'm sure that I'll be a few minutes late for work.

"Hello!" One of the daycare workers come over to me, smiling wide because I'm sure smiling is in her contract. "You're new here." She looks at Aubree, while tapping her chin like she's thinking really hard. "My name is Missy and you're Aubree, right?" Aubree nods, still holding onto my hand tightly and slightly hiding behind my leg. "Well, while your Mommy goes to work, we're going to play together, does that sound good?"

I kneel down next to my little girl. Her dark hair is pulled up high in a pony tail and she's the prettiest little girl I ever saw. Today, while I was applying my makeup, Aubree demanded that she wears makeup too. So, I put on just a bit of blush, making her rosy cheeks even more rosy, and a few daps of lip gloss, making her tiny pink lips shiner. This morning, it seemed like she was growing up too fast. But now, I can see how scared she is that I'm leaving her. "I'll be back soon, okay? I have to go to work, but I'll be back before you-" I tap her tiny nose gently, "-know it. And we'll even have Chinese for dinner." I force a smile, knowing how much she likes Chinese food.

Aubree nods, but the big tears pool in her big blue eyes and her bottom lip starts to tremble. I talked to Jenna about this, about this moment. That I'm suppose to just say a quick goodbye, give her a peck on her head then quickly leave, that the daycare workers will calm her down. So, I quickly kiss her forehead, mutter, "I love you." Then leave the daycare as soon as possible.

She starts screaming and crying, shouting, "Mommy! Mommy!" while Missy tries calming her down. I walk down the bustling sidewalks, trying to avoid thinking about her desperate pleas for me to come back. My vision gets blurry with tears, too. I knew it was going to be hard to leave her, but I didn't expect that I'd start crying. I should've enrolled her in a daycare during the summer so she would've got used to me leaving her already.

By the time I arrive at Half Life, I'm ten minutes late. I go into the bathroom and wash the tear stains off my face because I failed to hold back the tears on the subway ride here. My eyes are still red but there's nothing I can do about that so I leave the bathroom and bump into Liam on my way out. "Hey, Elena." He smiles at me but his smile fades once he realizes my bloodshot eyes. "Are you all right?"

I nod, forcing a big smile like his. "Yeah, yeah, I'm completely fine."

I've been working here for about a month and no one knows that I have a two year old daughter yet. I still don't want to tell them, especially not Liam. He'll find out soon enough, though, since we've been acting more than coworkers lately. We exchanged numbers and we've been texting a lot, talking about silly little things, neither of us wanting to stop the conversation. We hug a lot, at the end of our shifts. I remember the first time we hugged, my body froze and I quickly pulled away. The next day, I didn't.

Liam nods, but I can tell he's not fully convinced. "Anyway, I was wondering if you would want to go out for some coffee with me after our shifts are over."

_Oh._ I chew on my lower lip nervously. I want to, I _really_ want to. But, I was eager to get home to Aubree. I needed my little girl to wrap her arms around me because, without her, I'm sure I would've fallen insane. I think about it for a second but eventually say, "Um, yeah, I-I would love to. But can we meet later, say around eight?" I usually put Aubree to bed at eight, but tonight I'll put her to bed a half an hour earlier.

He grins a big, goofy grin. "Great. I'll meet you at that Starbucks near your apartment at eight."

_I'm going on a date._

[...]

"Dammit, Elena, hold still!" Caroline groans. One of her hands is clawed onto my head and her other is applying a thick coat of brown eyeliner to my eyelid. I grit my teeth. Caroline was very excited for me once I told her that I had a date tonight and she told me that Liam better be good-looking. Which he is. And that she was eager to meet him, but I'm nervous. I'm going to tell him about Aubree tonight. If things with us take off, he should at least know that he's getting two for the price of one.

"I am holding still. You're the one who is poking my eye with that device of torture!" I retort. "Besides, if I wear eyeliner, it'll look like I'm desperate into getting in a relationship with him," I mumble and let out a sigh of relief once she caps the lid back on her eyeliner and stuffs the eyeliner back in her makeup bag.

"You _are_ desperate about getting in a relationship with him." Caroline rolls her eyes. "And he won't even realize that you're wearing more makeup than usual. Trust me, guys don't realize stupid things like that. He'll be too busy staring at your boobs." She chuckles and her eyes glance down at my chest with the shirt I'm wearing.

I blush and bit my lip. "Do you think I should change?" I stand up quickly and look in the full length mirror. I'm wearing an old pair of skinny jeans that Jenna bought for me a few years back, a dark purple t-shirt that dips down low to show off some of my cleavage, and my old pair of Chucks. This is also the first time Liam will see me with my hair down and straight.

"No, you look perfect." Caroline assures and smiles. She pulls out her phone and looks at the time and I glanced at it, 7:47. After slipping her phone back in her pocket, she looks at me and grins. "Off you go. You don't want to be late for your _very_ important date." She giggles. And, with that, I'm out the door and to Starbucks.

By the time I arrive, Liam is already there. He's sitting at a small, round table with two chairs. He's wearing jeans, a white shirt, a leather jacket, and a blue beanie. _And he has style._ Caroline would definitely approve at him. I smile as I come over to him. "Hey," I and he stands up and cocoons me into a hug.

"Hi," He grins once we pull away from the hug. "What do you want?" He nods towards the counter.

"A vanilla bean Frappuccino." I say instantly. It's what I get every time I go to Starbucks. Liam nods and goes over to order our drinks. I sit down at the counter, tapping my foot nervously. He seems so calm and collected. He should be nervous and freaking out like me. Why isn't he nervous and freaking out like me? Oh, that's right, because he doesn't have to tell me about his two year-old daughter.

A few minutes later, Liam returns to our table with two drinks in his hand. "A vanilla bean Frappuccino for the beauty," He hands me my drink. "and a large decaf for the beast." He says and sits down across from me as I take a sip of my drink.

"You aren't a beast." I smile. "You're too pretty." Then _I_ feel myself blush. But I'm not supposed to be the one blushing, he is. God, I should've asked Caroline for some tips on flirting since I never mastered it. Damon did all the flirting in our relationship, I was just along for the ride.

He smiles. "You're cute, you know that?" He lifts up the plain white cup with the dark green Starbucks logo on it and takes a sip. I feel my face get redder. He must think I'm some pathetic high school girl who's on her first date. Then he speaks up again, "We're going to play a game."

"A game?" I raise my eyebrows.

"A game," He confirms. "I tell you three things that can either be strange or things that you don't know and you do the same with me. Sound good?" I nod. "Okay, great, I'll go first. One - I have a hard time living up to my family's reputation. Two - I plan on going to college next year to major in business. And, three - I make a mean apple pie."

I laugh softly. "You can bake apple pie? Well, that's a bonus."

He finally blushes and shrugs. "Your turn."

I bit my lip, this is it. Now or ever. "Okay. One - I do want to go to college and, if I do, I would want to major in English. Two - I'm deathly afraid of spiders and snakes. Three - I have a two year old daughter named Aubree." I say and once I finish, I let out a sigh of relief. There, my little secret is out. Now, he's either going to stay or bolt. I'm expecting for him to bolt.

But he doesn't, he just smiles. "A daughter? If she's anything like her mother, I'm sure she's adorable." I stare at him, obviously surprised. If the fact that I have a daughter doesn't scare him away, I don't think anything will.

"Oh, she is. But she keeps me on my toes." I say.

He chuckles and takes another sip of his coffee. "Look, if things go places with us, I have to ask; what happened to her father?" He says quietly, looking up at me with his gentle eyes.

"Out of my life for good." I say quickly to assure him. "We were in high school, he was my first and we only knew each other for a few months before I got pregnant. He stayed with me the whole time I was pregnant and a few days after Aubree was born. Then...he left." I bite my lip. Well, I just broke the first rule of first dates- no talking about past relationships. But it's something he needed to hear.

"That's a sad story." He whispers. "Elena, look, that guy had to be an idiotic bastard to leave. I wish I could just beat the crap out of him. I would never do anything like that to hurt you." He reaches across the table and holds my hand gently.

I nod slowly and the corners of my lips turn up slightly in a smile. "I know,"

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

Did I ever mention how much I hate my father? Well, Katherine sure knows how much I hate him because I mention ever goddamn day. So, that day when I came up to our apartment, she knew right away how things went by how loud I slammed my briefcase down on the ground. I walk into the kitchen as I begin undoing my tie and there's the love of my life: standing at the stove while wearing nothing except a bright orange bra and matching panties.

She looks over at me, her hair falling down her tan, smooth back. She smirks and approaches me slowly as I gaze over her beautiful body. "Missed me?" She asks and kisses me quickly, leaving me hanging and wanting more. "I made dinner. Sit," She nods towards the table.

I gulp and obediently walk over to the table and sit at my respective spot. She's teasing me. She wants to see how long I can go without touching her. But I can already feel myself getting hard just looking at her. A few seconds later, Katherine returns back to the table with two plates in both of her hands. She sets one in front of me then sits across the table for me.

"So, how was your day?" She asks innocently, as if her breasts weren't sticking out right in front of me and she makes no move to tell me she wants me to touch them.

"My Dad is a bastard." I mumble, looking down at the food she prepared. God, I _want_ her so badly right now.

She simply nods and says, "There's more chicken if you some more."

Five minutes later, everything on the table was on the floor, including Katherine's matching bra and panties.

* * *

**Then****: Elena's POV**

"And this is my house," Damon says as we pull up in his expensive black car to the Salvatore Boarding House. He said the car was some type of Audi or something, but I didn't really pay attention because I hate cars and I hate talking about them and I hate watching Nascar with my brother.

"You live here?" I raise my eyebrows. My friends always told me that my house is big, but Damon's house dwarfs my house. Damon pulls up to the driveway and gets out. I follow him obediently and he reaches out for my hand.

"It's not a mansion, Lena. It's a boarding house. Don't act like you're walking into Buckingham Palace." He shrugs. Obviously, this is my first time seeing Damon's house _and_ meeting his family. I thought I was nervous when Damon met Jenna and Jeremy, but this nervousness tops that nervousness. Damon senses this because he looks over at him. "Relax. You'll be fine."

"What if they don't like me?" I say.

He rolls his eyes. "They will. Trust me. Stefan already knows you from school and as long as you don't comment on my Dad's bald spots, he'll like you too." He tries to joke and get a smile out of me. So, I smile nervously.

We walk into the Salvatore Boarding House together and I stare in awe of all of antiques and decorations that adorn the majestic parlor. The strips of walls that aren't covered in old paintings of gloomy Civil War paintings were a deep red, the dark color of rhubarb. The frames that held the paintings of the Civil War were bright gold with delicate designs. The floorboards were old, dark cherry wood with scratches and scorns in it. A Persian rug adorned a part of the floor. I recognized a few of the generals and colonels in the pictures. One was Robert E. Lee and I think another one was Stonewall Jackson.

Damon caught my eyeing the portraits because he says, "My Father is an avid Civil War buff. Very few people can say that Joseph E. Johnston watches them eat breakfast every morning." He chuckles. "Oh, there's my favorite," He walks swiftly down the hall until he comes to another portrait. "James Longstreet. Apparently, they didn't have shaving cream and razors back in the day." From the painting, James Longstreet has a very long, bushy red beard that had to be scratchy.

"Of course they did, son. It's just Longstreet obviously preferred not to shave his beard." A stern voice said so suddenly that I jumped. I turned around and there was Mr. Salvatore. Damon told me his first name is Giuseppe. He looks like a very firm and scary high school principal that scared the students straight. I forced a small smile.

"Hello, Mr. Salvatore. It's a pleasure to meet you." I say and hold out my hand. I lock my elbow so my hand doesn't shake in front of him. From the corner of my eye, I can tell Damon is watching us closely.

Hesitantly, he shakes hands with me and, he too, forces a small, pained smile. "Yes, Miss Gilbert, is that correct? Damon has mentioned that you be accompanying us today." Then he pauses. "I must ask, you're a Gilbert as in The Founding Families Gilberts?"

I nod. "Yes. My ancestor from Mystic Falls is Jonathan Gilbert." The only reason I know this is because my father and uncle would bore me and Jeremy about our ancestors during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter dinners growing up. My parents even dragged me to the Council Meetings where Caroline and I got close.

"I assumed that." Mr. Salvatore says. "I remember your Father from a few of the Council Meetings."

I raise my eyebrows and look back at Damon, who is rolling his eyes at his father, then I look back at Mr. Salvatore. "Damon never told me that the Salvatores are members of the Founding Families. I attended my parents to some of the meetings, but I don't remember seeing you, Damon, or Stefan."

"I was seven when we moved away from Mystic Falls." Damon says. "We just moved back a few years ago and-"

"And I didn't have much time to become involved with the Council again." Mr. Salvatore finishes for him, giving Damon a glare. I sensed right away that the two didn't have a stable father/son relationship like my Dad and Jeremy did.

"Where did you move to?" I ask innocently, trying to get off the subject of The Council and The Founding Families because I hated talking and reminiscing about my parents like that. Despite that, it's a little strange for someone who knew my family not to tell me they're sorry about my parents' passing or talk about great people they were.

"New York City." Damon answers but doesn't give me a further explanation. "Where's Stefan?"

"The kitchen," Mr. Salvatore replies then stalks off back from where he came from. I frown. Cleary, Mr. Salvatore isn't a people person.

Damon escorts me off to the kitchen while muttering, "Sorry about him. He's just an old little bastard, he'll croak any day." I look up at him surprised.

"You shouldn't stand things about your father like that." I mumble.

Then, it's like he suddenly remember that my father is no longer alive and says, "Right, sorry." We go into the kitchen, which, despite the rest of the house, is completely modern. With stainless steel appliances, a flat screen over in the corner of the room, and a long breakfast nook where Stefan is sitting at, munching on a bowl of cereal while looking through the newspaper.

Stefan looks up at him and smiles. I give him a smile in return. "Elena, hey." He quickly comes over and pulls me in a brotherly hug. Stefan and I had history and art class together last year and, since we practically hated everyone else in our classes, we always sat next to each other and talked.

"Hi, Stefan." I reply, smiling at him.

"Damon doesn't shut up about you." Stefan chuckles. When I look up at Damon, he's blushing and I can't help but start laughing too. "Elena this, Elena that. I just want to punch him in the mouth sometimes. But, hey, I can't blame him."

Damon shakes his read. "Right. Now, run along little brother."

After the kitchen, we went upstairs to Damon's bedroom. His room wasn't like a regular teenage boys room with football trophies and a stack of video games. No, Damon Salvatore's bedroom is almost as gorgeous as he was. His bed is in the center of his room with four tall posts at each corner and a silky white comforter. Two dresses lined the one wall, huge windows without panes covered most of the walls, showing a fresh view of the forests, a television on the wall in the one corner, and a connecting bathroom.

"This is your room?" I look around and head directly over to bed, sitting on it and then I kick my old Converse off and lay down. It's extremely comfortable. His room looks like it's made for a king.

Damon laughs and joins me on the bed. "I like your room better."

He leans over and kisses him gently. I kiss him back and the kiss transform into a passionate, heart-pounding kiss. My fingers reach up and twirl in his hair. We roll over so I'm on the bottom. A few minutes, after we just kiss, he pulls away and slowly off his shit, tossing it to the ground. We go back to kissing, his hands slowly exploring my clothed body.

My heart feels like it's about to explode. _I _feel like I'm about to explode. We break away from the kiss, this time I do, and Damon helps me pull off my shirt. His hands go to my back, where my bra clasp is. He pauses and looks at me, as if saying, "Is this okay?" I nod. He unclasps my bra and tosses it to the ground, on top of the ever growing pile with our shirts.

No one has every since my breasts beside me. I've always been self-conscious of my body but Damon looks at them and somehow makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful girl in the world. He kisses him, sucking at the center of them. That makes me go crazy and we didn't even get to the best part yet. _How is that going to feel?_

I can tell he's eager to get to the main show. He puts himself up on his knees and unzips his pants, pulls them down and off, then he pulls his underwear down and off, and..._whoa._ I gulp. Caroline always teased me about how innocent I am and she once made me watch porn. I thought it was gross. Besides the porn, I never saw another guy's...thing. How can I want something so much but, at the same time, be so terrified about it?

He comes back down and I can feel his hard thing against my jeans. He kisses me a few more times and, I have to admit, that does calm me down. He pulls away and looks at me with those blue eyes and says, "Are you sure? We can stop now." He whispers. But I shake my head, I'm not giving up now. I read in a _Seventeen_ magazine once that, when it comes to sex, and you're deciding whether or not to do it, you have to think if you'll regret it. Will I regret sex with Damon? Absolutely not. He reaches over to his nightstand, opens the top drawer, digs around a bit, and pulls out a condom. I never seen one of those either.

After slipping the condom on with ease, he unzips my pants for me, pulling them down and then onto the pile of our clothes on the floor, leaving me in just my underwear. He pulls those off too and leaves me completely naked. Of course, no man has ever seen my naked. I have to do this, give him the time of his life because he's older and this is what he wants.

Then, he does _it. _The pain, which went away as quick as it can, made me cry around a little. But Damon shushes me with a kiss then moves his lips to my neck and starts kissing it. After a few moments of getting adjusted and getting used to the feeling, it feels _amazing._ I was told that it would feel good, but I didn't think it would feel this good. Our hips are awkward at first, just until we get familiar with the motion of each other's.

Damon has this ability to make me feel like the only girl in the world. I don't know if it's they way he looks at me, the way he kisses me, or the way he touches me. But the way he makes love to me, I feel different. I feel like a completely new and completely happy girl, no longer the gloomy girl who is mourning over her parents dead.

He brings me back to life.

Once we're finished, I go over to his shower and wash myself off since I'm...you know...bloody down there. I tried not to look when Damon pulled the condom off because there was a lot of blood on it. My virginity. I'm happy I gave it to him, though. Damon Salvatore, my first love and hopefully my last. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure every teenage girl thinks that the man they look their virginity too is going to be their husband. But I just kind of know.

After I finish showering, I change back into my clothes. My hair isn't wet because I pulled it up in a high bun before I showered and it's pretty straight still so Jenna shouldn't suspect a thing. Damon grins at me, he's laying on his bed, already dressed. "That was great, Lena. Who knew that you'd be that good?" He jokes as I lean in and kiss him.

"Shut up." I roll my eyes. It's funny. Now, I'm so much more comfortable around Damon. I always thought that after you see a guy naked and they see you naked, things will be very awkward around each other because you know what's really beneath those clothes. "Can you take me home?" I ask.

He nods and stands up. We hold hands as we leave the Boarding House. It's already night and, I have to admit, it's spooky being out here virtually in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods. We drive home together, with the radio on high and talking about how much we both aren't fans of Katy Perry.

We say our goodbyes and give each a goodnight kiss, Damon promising that he'll text me first thing tomorrow. I go inside the house and see that Jenna is already asleep and Jeremy is upstairs in his room with a friend. I go upstairs and change into my pajamas and lay down on my bed, looking up at the ceiling.

_I just made love with Damon Salvatore._

**What did you think? I really don't consider this porn or smut because I focused more on Elena's thoughts and feelings than the actually...yeah...I'm not a smut writer, by no means. So if you're looking strictly for smut, yeah, this isn't the story for you.**

**PLOT TWIST NEXT CHAPTER. I think I gave like one very subtle hint and I don't think anyone picked up on it. This is going to have a huge impact on the rest of the story.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing and followings and favoriting! :) Next chapter should be up soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6 - "New Me"_

**Now****: Elena's POV**

"What do I even wear?" I say to Caroline, frustrated as I look through my closet. It's been a month since the Starbucks date with Liam and we aren't dating yet. We've been talking a lot more, though, and we went on two other dates to Starbucks and to the movies too. I don't mind. I want to take things slow, after all, things went pretty fast with Damon and then the next thing I knew, we were walking around Babies R Us looking for a crib. But tonight I'm stepping into a whole new territory: I'm meeting Liam's family because they invited me over for dinner.

"Don't you have any dresses? What about that dress you wore to homecoming last year?" She says and joins me in my frantic search for an outfit. Liam is picking up in two hours and I'm not even close to being ready. My hair is pulled up high in a very messy bun and I'm wearing old sweatpants with barf stains on them from when Aubree was a baby.

"No, I left that one at home because I didn't think I would need it." I shrug. "What if I just wear those black dress pants, a white shirt, and a black blazer and call it a day?"

Caroline looks at me and grimaces. "Uh, no. There's no way in hell I'm going to let you look like you're going to a funeral when you're meeting your future in-laws for the first time." Then she perks up. "Oh! I have the perfect dress for you that I never wore. God, I can't believe I forgot about that." She grabs my hand and pulls me into her bedroom.

She digs around her closet for a few seconds then finally pulls out a dress that was crammed in the corner, probably since we moved here. She holds it up to me and smiles wide, of course she knows that I love it. It's a lace white peplum dress and the tags tell me that it's from Forever 21. "From that goofy grin on your face, I can tell you like it." She says then pushes it in my hands. "Go put it on then I'll do your hair and makeup."

"Thank you, Care." I say gratefully then disappear back into my room. I slip on the dress and it fits like a glove. I swallow hard as I look at myself in the mirror. What will Liam's parents say about me? He already told them that I have a kid, so it must be a good sign that they still invited me over for dinner, right? The last time I met my boyfriend's (Or in this case, almost-boyfriend) family was Damon and his father wasn't exactly welcoming. After admiring the dress in the mirror for a bit, I go back into Caroline's room where she already has the curling iron plugged in and heating it. "It looks great, doesn't it?" I say, sitting down on the stool of the vanity she has.

She smiles and nods, grabbing her brush and brushing through my hair. "Definitely. I swear, Elena, with those legs, you could be a model." Then she separates the layers in my hair to get ready for curling it.

"Mommy!" I hear my energetic, little, princess shout. Half a second later, she's running into Caroline's room and rushes over to me, Matt right behind her. Careful not to move my head too much, I pick Aubree up and put her on my lap. She points to my dress and smiles. "Pwetty." She says, having trouble pronouncing her "R's".

I smile. "Thank you. I'm going on a date tonight, so are you going to be a good girl for Aunty Care, Uncly Matt, and Uncly Ty?" I say, biting my lip. I feel guilty for leaving her for Liam again. Caroline assures me that I'm a grownup and I'm single and I'm perfectly entitled for going out on a few dates once in a while. I don't get how parents can leave their little children every night to go out the party. Then again, parties were never my scene.

Aubree nods. "Otay." She says as Caroline starts wrapping my hair around the curling iron. Aubree rests her head against my chest and I gently rub her dark hair like mine. Not only is dating again and Liam and everything a big step for me, it's also a big step for her. If things get serious enough between Liam and I, then I'll introduce him to Aubree. I don't want to make those two meet and have him walk out of my life a week later. And, I will need to make absolutely sure that Aubree does not mistaken Liam for her Dad. Liam is nothing like Damon. For one, he's not an absent asshole.

[...]

Two hours later, Aubree's gone and Liam should be here any moment. Matt took Aubree for a walk to pick up their Chinese food that they're all having tonight. This was on purpose, of course, I don't want Liam and Aubree to see each other tonight. Once again, thank God for Matt. Usually, I don't brag or boast about myself but tonight, I have to admit I do look pretty. The dress clings to every curve of my body and makes me look sexy, but the white lace makes me look innocent. Perfect for the first time meeting Liam's family. Caroline curled my hair so it's hanging in loose curls all down my back and she did an extraordinary job on my makeup.

_Knock, knock._

I take a deep breath and go to open the door. Liam is standing there in a suit. I'm happy that I did opt for this dress. Liam's family must be pretty high-class if their family dinners consist of tuxes and ties. As soon as he sees me, he smiles huge. I feel my cheeks blushing. "You look beautiful." He tells me. He looks beautiful, too. His eyes are blue, but they don't carry the arrogant, icy color like Damon's does. Liam's eyes are sweet and warm and promising, like a summer day.

"Thank you," I smile.

Caroline comes in, smiling. She holds her hand. "Hi, you must be Liam. I'm Caroline, Elena's best friend and roommate." She says quickly. God, she talks way too much. I told her to stay in her room.

Liam shakes her hand. "Yeah, I'm Liam. It's nice to meet you, Caroline." He says politely. Caroline pokes me in the rib with her elbow, a not-so-subtle sign that she likes Liam. She did this whenever she thought she saw a hot guy looking at me in the streets. I shoot her a glare.

She grins, ignoring my glare. "Alright, alright. You two kids have fun. Be home by midnight." She scolds us like a mother would. Liam laughs and I shake my head, thinking, _Way to embarrass me, Care._

[...]

We arrive at his apartment and what I was expecting was completely different than his actual apartment. No, it wasn't an apartment, more like a mansion 24 stories above the streets of Manhattan. An elevator opens right up to his apartment and I see a grand staircase with marble steps, marble floors, couches with leather that looks like it was imported from Italy, a stone fireplace, and a large flat screen television playing a football game. I have to shut my mouth to keep the flies from entering. "Y-You live here?" I look around. "You didn't tell me you were rich."

Liam chuckles and shakes his head. "I'm not rich, I work at Half Life. My family is, though. My Dad owns a couple major business and my Mom is a model." He answers.

"You could have at least told me." I sigh and looks down at my outfit. Surely a $20 dress isn't fancy enough for this. "Am I dressed okay? Do I look okay?" I look back up at him, biting my lip nervously.

"You look gorgeous, more gorgeous than Kate Middleton." He kisses my cheek. I get all tingly when his lips come in contact with my skin. "Trust me, I met Kate once or twice in person." He grins.

I roll my eyes. "Stop bragging about all the famous people you meet. I met Brittney Spears once."

He arches an eyebrow at me. "Really?"

"Nope." I laugh and he laughs too and for a moment I think he's going to kiss me. But he doesn't because that's when his Mom walks in. She's gorgeous, I didn't think it was possible for a woman in her 50s to look that beautiful. She has blond hair, where Liam gets it from, and the brightest blue eyes I ever seen. Her teeth are very white and very straight and look like the ones you see in a commercial for Crest toothpaste. Her hair is pulled up in a up-do and she's wearing a modest black dress with shining white pearls.

She smiles kindly at me. "You must be Elena. Liam has told us so much about you." Instead of holding out her hand to shake, she hugs me gently. She smells like some type of expensive perfume. Coach, maybe? Caroline has a perfume similar to it.

I nod and smile at her as we pull away from the hug. "Yes, I am. It's so nice to finally meet you." Then I look around the penthouse more, admiring the high ceilings and wide windows that overlook the city. "And your home is absolutely spectacular."

Another man enters the room, I'm assuming it's Liam's father. He's dressed less formally with just khaki pants and a white polo shirt, something that school kids would wear. He has a large bald spot in the middle of his wide and a big belly, but he seems just as welcoming and kind as his wife. He grins, just as wide as Liam's and, like his wife, pulls me into a big hug. "Elena. Liam hasn't shut up about you." He chuckles.

When I look over at Liam, he's blushing. "Thanks, Dad." He mumbles. His father laughs more. Liam comes over, wraps his arm around my waist and I smile up at him. He actually looks proud to have me here, like I'm some prized and rare girl and he's lucky to have me. I thought that I wouldn't be comfortable here, not when I saw the size and decorations of his home. But I really do. His parents are very nice and I really could see myself having a future with him.

Then, I hear the loud clanking of heels and look over and my jaw practically drops when I see who it is. She has long, curly hair, nearly the same color as mine but maybe a shade or two different. Her eyes are smoky, cat-like while mine are described as doe-like. She's much skinner than me and, despite our similar looks, much more prettier than me. She sees me and smiles, her teeth are as white and straight as her Mom's. "Hello," She approaches me and pulls me in a hug like the rest of her family. "I'm Katherine, Liam's older sister."

I smile at her and hug her back. "I'm Elena. I didn't know you were Liam's sister." I look over at Liam who shrugs timidly.

Katherine laughs, a sweet and innocent laugh. "Oh, come on, little bro? You didn't tell Elena that I'm a Victoria's Secret model?" Normally, I think my self-esteem would be very low if I was ever around a model, especially a Victoria's Model. But Katherine is so sweet that I don't think I could be if I tried. She's wearing a pretty tight dress, but not so bad that it shows off her cleavage dramatically. For a model, she seems very down to Earth.

Mrs. Pierce leads us into the kitchen and as she walks she says, "Katherine's boyfriend won't be joining us tonight. He's busy with work." But I'm not listening to her because I'm in awe of their kitchen. Expensive stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and to top it all off, a butler cleaning the sink. Finding out your almost-boyfriend is rich with a Victoria's Secret model for a sister and a butler doesn't happen everyday.

The five of us sit at the table and the butler serves us our meal - creamy mashed potatoes with specks of garlic in it, roasted chicken with a bronze amber color on the outside, buttery corn and green beans, and expensive red wine that, like the leather couches, was imported straight from the vineyards of Italy. God, Matt, Tyler, and Caroline would choose a meal like this over Chinese any day.

"So, Elena, Liam told us you have a daughter?" Mrs. Pierce says after their butler serves us. There isn't a hint of judgment in her voice and I'm incredibly grateful for that.

I nod. "Yeah. Aubree, she's two." I answer, smiling as I think of her. I miss her so much and I've only been gone an hour so far. I'm not working tomorrow, so I'll make sure to spend all day with her. Maybe I'll take her to Central Park and we can play together. Whatever is cheap but would be loads of fun for her.

"So, you were in high school when you had Aubree?" Mr. Pierce says, gulping down sips of his water. Once again, he's not judging. Just curious.

"Yeah. I know I was young and all, but I wouldn't trade Aubree for the world. She _is_ my whole world." I heard that whenever woman talk about their children, they get a glow on their faces. I wonder if I'm glowing like that right now.

"Looks like you got some serious competition there, Liam." His Father jokes as he pats Liam's shoulder. Everyone at the table laughs.

"I don't think he'll ever win that competition, though." I say, still laughing. Aubree before boys, always. No exceptions.

"Is Aubree's father still in the picture?" Mrs. Pierce asks, taking a dainty sip of her red wine.

I shake my head quickly. "No. He left a few weeks after Aubree was born. It's okay, I mean, he's still paying child support every month. But Aubree doesn't know him and I didn't talk to him since he left." I shrug.

That's when Katherine speaks up. "Well, props to you, Elena. Most girls in high school couldn't take care of a plant and you took care of a baby by yourself." She says encouraging and gives me a smile and I smile back. I can honestly see Katherine and I being good friends in the future, sister-in-laws, even. "I would love to meet Aubree sometime in the future. I love children."

"I'm sure Aubree would also love to meet you. She's pretty girly." I chuckle and launch into a story about how a few days ago, Aubree got into Caroline's makeup and managed to lock herself in the bathroom for twenty minutes. I was panicking until Matt finally came home and used a bobby bin to unlock the door. Aubree was standing on the toilet, right in front of the mirror, wearing blue eye shadow up to her eyebrow, bright pink lips stick, heavy red blush and bronzer, and she didn't know how to use the mascara so it was on her eyelids. Katherine had a very good laugh from that story.

[...]

After dinner and dessert, Liam drives me back to my apartment. He takes me up the elevator and walks to my apartment door with me. We stand in front of it, looking at each other. I smile at him. "Thank you for tonight. I had a really nice time."

"My family didn't drive you too crazy?" He jokes.

I laugh softly. "Not at all. I really like your family. They're sweet and funny."

"Good," He face goes serious and he takes my hand in his and looks at me in the eye and says, "Look, Elena, I really like you. And I was wondering if you would want to be official with me." He says quietly.

"Liam, I would love to." I say and he smiles and I smile. Then, he leans in slowly. He's slow enough to give me time to pull away. But I don't because I want this just as bad as he does. I've wanted this since the first day I saw him at Half Life. Our lips touch gently and I can still taste traces of the red wine on his lips. At the same time, our hands move to each other's face, cupping each other's cheeks as we kiss. Liam's kisses are different than Damon's. Damon's had the tendency to be rough even when he tried to be gentle.

When we finally pull away, he's grinning like an idiot. I'm sure I have a similar look on my face because I'm trying not to smile but it keeps forcing it's way back onto my lips. "I'll call you tomorrow." He says and I nod. Before he leaves, his kisses my forehead. I go back inside the house, feeling all giddy. The last time I remember feeling like this was when Damon and I first kissed at my birthday party. That feels like ages ago.

As I set down my purse and kick off my uncomfortable heels, Caroline and Aubree come running into the living room. Both of them are in their pajamas, Aubree in her footy-pajamas. Aubree runs over to me and I pick her up, holding her close. "Mommy!" She smiles and I kiss her head. I missed her so much, my little princess.

Caroline smirks at me. "So...how'd it go?"

"It was amazing."

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

Only about thirty minutes after I return home from another stressful day at Salvatore Law Office, does Katherine enter the house. I already changed into plaid pajama bottoms when she comes back. I leave our bedroom, where I was watching the football game that I missed, and go into the kitchen where she is. She is putting leftovers away in the fridge. "Hey," She looks over at me.

"Hi." I say as I approach her and wrap my arms around her thin body. "How was dinner with your family?" I whisper in her ear whilst stroking her dark brown hair. God, gorgeous.

She turns around and faces me. "It was good. We met Liam's new girl, quite a catch for him." Then she pouts. "I wish you were there though." I'm staring at that pouty, big, pink, bottom lip of hers. She must notice this because her lips curve up in a smirk.

"I know, I know. I wish I was there too." I kiss her forehead and hold her beautiful face in my hands, looking into those brown eyes of her. "But...Liam has a girlfriend?" I let out a little chuckle. Since Katherine and I began dating, he's become like me little brother and it's just hard for me to picture him with a girl.

Katherine nods, smiling. "Yeah. Hey! Don't laugh. He seems very happy with her and that's all that matters." She says, laughing softly. Her laugh is ridiculous. The type of laugh that makes you laugh in response because it sounds like a children's giggle. Yeah, Katherine doesn't laugh. She giggles. And it's undeniably cute and irresistible. "How was work?" She asks.

I let out a big sigh. "All I can say is, I'm lucky I'm not going to jail right now because I almost brutally stabbed my father." He's been stressing me out a lot more lately and I don't even live with him. How does Stefan handle him? I walk over to the cabinet and pull out a large glass container with dark richly colored bourbon and pour it in a cup. "I think about quitting but then remember that I don't have a college degree and I won't find a job that makes enough money." I mumble, taking a sip of the bourbon.

Katherine comes over to me. "You could always go in the underwear modeling business." She teases, grabbing the cup of bourbon from my hand and taking a sip. It's a 100 proof and she doesn't even make a face. My girl knows how to drink. Just another reason why I'm head over heels in love with her. "We'd make a good team. I model woman's panties and bras and you model male boxers. Or a swimsuit model, maybe. I would love to see you in a Speedo on the gigantic screen in Times Square." She _giggles_.

"Or," I say, snatching the glass back "we could become porn stars. That wouldn't be that bad now, would it? We would get paid for have wild sex and we would be billionaires because everybody would watch it because you're a Victoria's Secret model and I'm _me_." I smirk, taking a drink.

She rolls her eyes. "As much fun as that sounds, no. I'm really not excited about knowing that 50 year old men are masturbating to me naked."

Now it's my turn to roll my eyes. "Babe, I hate to break it to you, but there are thousands of pictures out there of you in just a bra and underwear. Trust me, 50 year old men are already jacking off to you."

"Oh, so are you one of those fifty year old men?" She arches an eyebrow at me playfully before sneaking the cup out of my hands and taking another long sip. I'm practically drooling in amazement.

"I'm not fifty." I correct her.

"Or a man." She jokes, grinning.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that one, Miss Pierce." I said, picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder. She's giggling the entire way to our bedroom, "Damon, put me down!" She says, hitting my back lightly. I finally do put her down. On our bed.

* * *

**Then****: Elena's POV**

"You had sex with him, didn't you?" Caroline says. She's sitting on my bed and I made sure we were home alone when I finally told her. Jenna and Jeremy were going to be gone all day, he needs summer clothes because he's hitting puberty and finally growing, so, off to the mall they went. Damon's coming over later tonight. We've hung out in the past few weeks since we slept together, but we didn't sleep together again. I'm hoping tonight it will because it felt so _good. _I almost feel guilty admitting that because there's always going to be that tiny voice in my head: _What would my parents think?_

I frown. "How'd you know?" I sit down next to her on the bed. I've been nervous to tell her. Why? I have no clue. She wouldn't be ashamed or mad at me because I know very well that she had sex with Klaus more times than you can count. Maybe it's because once I tell her, then it's out and real. My reputation of being the innocent little girl is gone now. Virgins can't be innocent, it's in the Virgin Handbook.

"You haven't really been talking to me for a few weeks, you've been insanely happy and giddy, especially when you talk about Damon, and it's obvious that your relationship with Damon got pretty serious." She smiles and raises her eyebrows at me. "So, tell me all the details."

I laugh. "Okay, okay. We were at his house and I met his father, who seems pretty uptight, but that's besides the point. And we went upstairs to his room and we were just laying on his bed, silk sheets by the way, and we started kissing. Next thing I knew, our clothes were off and he was sliding on a condom." I shrug. "That's about it. It wasn't kinky or the type of stuff you made me watch in that porn video. No sex toys. It was just nice and sweet and passionate."

Caroline smiles. "Good. So, you used a condom. The first time Klaus and I did it, we were completely in the moment and forgot." I frown, Caroline never mentioned this to me before. I'm suddenly very concerned for my best friend and her ovaries. "I remember that I was late for my period that next month and I was freaking out. Turns out it was a false alarm, obviously."

"Did you guys have sex without a condom since then?" I'm surprised that I can talk to Caroline about sex easily now. Before, when my hymen was still perfect intact and her's wasn't, I would find it extremely awkward to talk about sex. Now it's just casual conversation, like talking about the latest celebrity gossip that I really didn't care about.

"Nope. We learned our lesson." She shrugs and lays down on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. We both jump when we hear a car door slam. I get up quickly and look outside to see Damon's blue Camaro. He's early.

"Caroline, I love you to death, but Damon's here, so get out." I say, feeling nervous all over again. Is it normal to feel this way when you see someone you love? I guess so, otherwise they wouldn't call it love. Caroline rolls her eyes as I basically have to drag her out of my room and down the stairs. Damon knocks at the door and I open it right way, he's grinning at me but his grin falters when he sees Caroline. "She's just leaving," I assure him.

"Have fun you two!" Caroline winks at us before starting her short walk home. I'm blushing but Damon just chuckles and shakes his head. Then he greets me with a kiss.

"Hey." He says.

"Hey." I reply.

It's not long before we find our way to my bedroom. It starts out the same way as it did when we had sex at his house: slowly kissing then the removal of our beloved clothes. Well, my beloved clothes. I still find it strange being naked in front of a man. But Damon whispers in my ear about how beautiful I am and how I deserved to be loved. I don't think I'm beautiful and I don't think I'm ugly. But, he's right. I do deserved to be love and not just by making love. I lost the two people I was closest with and the thought of losing Damon scares me.

"Crap," He mutters suddenly, pulling away from our kiss. We're both naked now and I'm really regretting putting that mirror right in front of my bed. I can see _everything_ that's going on and, I have to say, it's making me more self conscious about my body. Mental note: we have sex in Damon's room from now on.

I frown, instantly worried that I'm doing something wrong. "What?"

He sighs. "I forgot a condom. And I highly doubt you have any." Of course I don't. Remember, I'm innocent little Elena who was virtually clueless about the male anatomy until seventh grade health class. Despite our lack of condom, I don't want to stop. It feels so good already and I know that it's only going to get better. "I can just...pull out before I...you know..." He trails off.

"Is that safe?" I blurt out quickly, right away remembering what Caroline told me.

"Of course it's safe. I'll pull out before my baby juice gets inside of you, okay?" I nod slowly. He sighs, sensing my hesitation. "Look, if you don't want to-"

"No, I want to." I assure him quickly.

"Fine. Then just relax and trust me, you got nothing to worry about." He smiles and kisses me again.

**SURPRISE! Liam and Katherine are siblings! Betcha didn't see that one coming, huh? Didja, didja, didja? Back in Chapter 2 when Kat and Damon went to Half Life, I wrote about how Damon knew exactly why Katherine would want to come there. It was EXTREMELY subtle and if I was a reader I know I wouldn't have picked up on it. But that was my goal, I wanted you guys to be totally shocked and surprised and start thinking about what this means for Damon and Elena. I mean...they could possibly be in-laws. Yikes. That's awkward. **

**Damon doesn't know that Liam is dating Elena because he doesn't even know her name. All Damon knows is Liam has a new girlfriend. Katherine never mentioned Elena's name, what she looks like, or that she has a daughter.**

**Katherine doesn't know Elena is Damon's ex because Damon never told her about Elena, never showed her a picture of Elena, and Damon never even told Katherine he has a daughter.**

**Liam doesn't know that Elena dated Damon because Elena never told Liam Damon's name or showed him a picture of Damon.**

**And Elena doesn't know that Katherine is now dating Damon.**

**All I can say, is that when they all finally come together, THINGS ARE GOING TO BE EPIC.**

**But that isn't until four chapters away. EEP! You're going to get the circumstances of how they meet in the next chapter, but that isn't all. There's going to be a twist to it, of course.**

**As for the Then portion of the story, in next chapter it's going to be Elena finding out she's pregnant. Whoop whoop! Can't wait to write.**

**Thank you SO, SO, SO much for all the reviews. I love reading all of them! Seriously, it's 2 AM as I'm writing this and I'm already eager to wake up tomorrow morning to see if there is any reviews.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter_ 7 - "Mommy Elena"_

**Now****: Elena's POV**

November comes quickly. Leaves of all different colors, from crimson reds to buttery yellow to fiery orange clutter the streets of Central Park. Thanksgiving is coming quickly and the smell of apple cider lurks on every street corner. It's a lovely time to be alive. Life is great for everyone and I don't know how it can get any better. Matt, Tyler, and Caroline love college. Sure, the classes can be challenging but it's college, not high school. Work at Half Life is easy and it's great to see Liam everyday at work. Okay, well not everyday, just the days we have the same shifts. The other days without him suck.

I'm still not used to this whole adult thing, but I like it. I was always that little girl who couldn't wait to grow up and have a husband and kids and a white picket fence and a golden retriever. Kid? Check. Husband? Check, sort of. Boyfriend fits in that category. All I need is a fence and a golden retriever to achieve the life little Elena Gilbert always wanted. And those two things shouldn't be too hard.

Today is a special day for me, Aubree, and Liam. Today's the day that Liam and Aubree finally meet. It's a Thursday and Caroline, Matt, and Tyler already left for school. They wouldn't be back until later this afternoon so it's just me and Aubree for now. It's a cool, windy day and it's a perfect day to just stay outside with two of the most important people in your life.

"Loony?" I say as I'm standing in the kitchen, talking to Aubree who is playing with her toys as _Good Morning America_ is on the television. I was always that weird kid who enjoyed watching the news. "Eggs or pancakes?" I ask her, looking in the fridge. Mental note: I need to go grocery shopping.

Aubree looks over at me, her dark brown hair is all messy because she sleeps on it weird. I'll have to do something with her hair before Liam gets here. Maybe pull her bangs back in a clip. "Eggies." She answers.

"Eggies it is." I say, taking two eggs out of the fridge and cracking them in a pan. I wish I was better at cooking. I guess I inherited my Mom's horrible cooking skills, instead of my Dad's. He was like Emerald.

I get this sort of ache in my chest whenever I remember that Aubree will never get to meet her grandparents. None of them. None of them are living besides that bastard named Giuseppe. Which she isn't going to meet anyway, so what's the point? I have so much pressure on my shoulders. I have to be Aubree's mom and dad and grandma and grandpa. It's not fair for that little girl to have virtually no family besides me, Jeremy, and Jenna, who live hours away.

After I finish making breakfast, I force Aubree to sit at the table and pour her a sippy cup of milk and gives her the plate of scrambled eggs with a large pile of ketchup, which Aubree could eat by the spoonful. "Aubree? Are you excited to meet my friend?" I ask her. I was reading some website online and they said that I should introduce Liam first as a friend to Aubree. Which sounds good because she already met plenty of my friends from back at Mystic Falls.

Aubree nods. "Yes!" She exclaims and then takes a forkful of ketchup and eats it like it's actual food. I make a face at her and she just giggles devilishly like she just got away with murder. _Ew._

"And are you going to be on your best behavior?" I ask her, taking a sip of my coffee. I want this to work out with him so bad. If Aubree doesn't like Liam or Liam doesn't like Aubree, there's no way in hell that this relationship could work. And I want to find out as soon as possible. Some people would recommend to wait until we're more serious, like engaged kind of serious. But what if we're engaged and Aubree absolutely hates Liam? So, she's meeting him at the early stages of our relationship.

"Yes, Mommy." She says and I smile at her. Really, she's the best daughter I could ever ask for. I stand up and plant a kiss at the top of her head gently.

Then the doorbell rings and butterflies fly around in my stomach like the first day of Spring. I take a deep breath and go over and open the door. Of course, Liam's standing there with his goofy grin and charming blue eyes. He leans in to kiss me, but then stops when he remembers. I also read on that website that we shouldn't show much physical attraction towards each other when he is first meeting Aubree. Obviously, friends don't just have intense make-out sessions on the couch in front of your two year old. I would never do that anyway, of course. "Hi," He smiles.

"Hey. Come on in," I step aside and he walks in. His black boots walk against the hard floor and it brings me back to when I was dating Damon. How his hard boots would always clash against the wooden floor. I swallow hard and tell myself mentally to forget about him. He's gone and he's never coming back. Aubree looks up and she gets instantly shy since Liam is here, so she runs over and clings onto my leg. "This is Aubree. Aubree, this is Liam, my friend."

Liam crouches down with a big smile on his face and holds out his hand. "Hi, Aubree. Nice to meet you!"

Aubree sucks on her thumb and just hides behind my leg. "She's just shy." I quickly assure Liam, who appears a little hurt. Okay, this isn't going _great_, but it isn't going horribly either. It's...lukewarm. Yeah, lukewarm.

"Of course," Liam nods and we move over to the living room area. We both sit down on the couch but Aubree insists on sitting on my lap. I sigh softly. But, what was I expecting? For Aubree to throw herself in Liam's arms and have Liam laugh and then Liam magically proposes to me? Not even in my dreams.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that Liam looks uncomfortable here. And I don't blame him, I would probably be being peeing my pants if I was meeting my boyfriend's child for the first time. So, I decide to intervene, "Aubree? Go show Liam one of your toys."

But Aubree, being the stubborn two year old she is, refuses. She just stays sitting on my lap, her thumb in her mouth and watching Liam. He smiles nervously at her. "Err...Elena?"

"Yeah?" I look at him, embarrassed about how this little meeting his going.

"There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. Well, Christmas isn't far away and every year, my parents throw this huge Christmas party. All my family, family friends, my parent's workers, basically everyone my family knows is going to be there. It's tradition. There's going to be gowns and tuxes and my drunk Uncle Zeke." He chuckles. "Anyway, I was hoping you would like to be my date?"

I only think about it for a second before nodding quickly. "Of course, I would love to come as your date. And I'm dying to meet this Uncle Zeke of yours."

"He's something else," Liam laughs. "Well, I'm glad you'll be able to come with me. Last year, I didn't have a date and my Mom wouldn't let me hear the end of it." He rolls his eyes.

"I'm honored that I will be the lucky lady that will stop your mother from being disappointed in you for not being able to find a suitable girl." I joke.

Aubree finally gets down from my lap and finds her nearest Barbie doll. I forget this one's name. She gives it to me then hands me one of the cheap plastic combs it comes with. "Brush," She orders me, pointing to the doll's long blond hair.

I do as I'm told, getting all the knots out of the doll's hair. After I'm done, I show it to her, "This good?" I ask, awaiting her approval.

She examines it for a nanosecond before shaking her head. "More!" She says. I nod and continue brushing it.

Liam watches us practically in amazement. I look up at him, raising an eyebrow questioningly at him. But he just simply smiles and shakes his head, "You're just an amazing mother, Elena."

And I think that's the best compliment a woman could ever receive.

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

"Babe?" I call out to Katherine, who is somewhere in the apartment. "We're out of bourbon!" I frown at the large and empty glass container, normally filled with the amber colored liquid that I thrive on. Now I sound like an alcoholic. I'm far from it, though. Okay...maybe not far from it. Dammit, my brain isn't functioning right without the bourbon.

Katherine comes in the kitchen, talking on the phone to her Mom. She holds her pointer finger to those perfect pink lips of hers, that make an even more perfect pout, signaling me to be silent. I roll my eyes and come over to her, wrapping my arms around her from behind and kissing her shoulder. "Yeah, Mom...Yep, I'll talk to him about it...Oh, really? That's good...Of course I'm excited, why would I be?...Monday? Uh, I don't know. I think Jasmine is coming in from Miami that day...Yeah, that Jasmine...We already made plans, Mom, I'm sorry..." I listen into Katherine's side of the conversation. I wait patiently until she finally hangs up the phone.

When she finally does hang up, which seems like an eternity later, she turns around and looks at me. "There's more bourbon in the cabinet." She says simply.

"Oh, thank God." I mumble, going over the cabinet she nodded towards and pulling out another full bottle of bourbon. I don't even bother pouring it into a cup. I just drunk it straight from the bottle.

"My Mom is talking about the Pierce Family Christmas Party again." She sighs. "Liam is bringing his girlfriend and I'm forcing you to come as my date." She says. She goes over to the refrigerator and pours herself a glass of water.

Now would be a good time to mention that both of us are just in our underwear and, for Katherine, her bra.

"Oh, great, another one of your Christmas parties listening to old war stories by your Uncle Zeke." I roll my eyes. I was never a fan of the Pierce parties. Don't get me wrong, I love Katherine's family. They just have a tendency to overdo things when it comes to parties.

"Believe me, I hate them too. But, hey, it gives me an excuse to go out and buy another dress." She smirks. "And you get to wear a suit. I love it when you wear suits." She whispers seductively to me, her lips just brushing against the skin of my neck.

I smile. "You're going to be the death of me one day, you know that?" I say, placing my hands on her skinny hips and kisses her passionately.

She pulls away and looks up at me. "Oh, I know."

* * *

**Then: Elena's POV**

_It started out with a kiss._

_How did it end up like this?_

_It was only a kiss._

_It was only a kiss._

Jenna watched me with a funny look on her face all throughout breakfast. I tried ignoring it, but it was obvious. Even Jeremy noticed and as we were cleaning up the dishes, he mumbled in my ear, "Is there something I don't know about?" He was obviously referring to Jenna's face and her silence. Normally, she would be bustling about her school or things that we have to do today.

I shake my head. "Of course not, Jer."

But he doesn't believe me. "Look, just because I'm the baby of the family doesn't mean you two have to keep secrets from me all the time." He says as he hands me a freshly washed plate so I can dry it.

"We're not keeping anything from you." I snap at him then instantly regret it. It's extremely rare for us to argue with each other since our parents died. We just kind of both realized that we're the only ones each of us has left and we know better than to ruin our relationship. I sigh heavily, pushing a piece of my thick straight hair behind my ear. "I-I'm sorry, it's just-"

"That time of the month again?" He tries joking.

Actually it was the opposite problem.

"Come on, I'll drive you to school." Jenna says, picking up her own bag for her classes. Jeremy and I pick up our respective bags and go to Jenna's Mini Cooper. Jeremy sits in the backseat and I sit in the passenger seat. The ride is silent the whole way there. Finally, we arrive at Mystic Falls High School. Jeremy quickly gets out, muttering something that sounds like bye. But Jenna stops me from leaving the car. "Elena, is there something we need to talk about?"

I shake my head. "No, Jenna, everything's fine." She opens her mouth to speak, but I quickly cut her off. "Look, I really have to go. I have American Government first period and Mrs. Zeke hates when people are late." Lying became easy now and I quickly leave the car and go into my school.

By the time I go over to my locker and start getting my books for my first two classes, most of the hallways are empty. Everyone's in homeroom. Everyone except for a bubbly little blonde who rushes over to me as soon as she sees me. "Elena! There you are! I thought you'd be absent again." She's smiling and has that look on her face that tells me she's going to start blabbing about Klaus but her smile quickly disappears once she sees the look on my face. "Elena, you look...green."

"That's because I'm sick-" Quickly, I shove my books in Caroline's hands and hurry off to the nearest bathroom. There's no time to make sure no one else is in there. I just rush to the nearest stall and vomit. Caroline trails me in and hands me a mint once I'm finished. "That was the second time today and the fifth day this week." I tell her.

She frowns. "You need to see the doctor or something. It might be the flu..." She starts.

"It's not the flu, Caroline." I say firmly, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand. "God, how can I be this stupid?!" I stand up and go over to the sink. My fingers work their way through my hair, pulling it up in a high pony tail. Then I start washing my hands at the sink. Tears pool in my eyes and all I want to do is go home.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline comes closer to me, her face knotted in concern and confusion.

"Damon and I had sex without protection." I say, my voice cracking at the end. Caroline stares at me in pure horror while I start laughing without humor. "And all the signs are there. I'm late for my period. I'm be feeling like shit for most of the day everyday and I'm puking my guts up." I swallow hard. "I'm pregnant." The words sound crazy coming out of my mouth.

Caroline's eyes are as round and as big as golf balls. "You have to get a pregnancy test, Elena. Maybe Damon could drive-"

"No." I cut her off immediately. "I'm not getting Damon involved in any of this until I know for sure what the hell is going on with my uterus." I start pacing back and forth, rubbing the sides of my neck with my hands. "What about Klaus? Can we drive us?"

"I'm sure he can." She mumbles and pulls out her phone, her fingers shaking slightly as she texts. For once, she's the dumbfounded one and I'm the one calling the shots. I watch her as she texts, a million thoughts going through my mind. Then again, maybe she's right, maybe it's all just the flu. The flu is what's causing the vomiting and since I'm so stressed out about the possibility of have a kid, I'm not getting my period. Or maybe the flu is causing my absence of bleeding. That can happen, right? Her phone buzzes and she looks at the text then up at me. "He can. He said to meet him out the back door in five."

Five minutes later, Caroline and I are navigating our ways through the halls, carefully listening for the _click-clack_ of a teacher's shoe or talking. The teachers here are strict on hall passes, which neither of us have, and they obviously don't support students leaving school so they can get a pregnancy test. The side exit is right by the gym so our biggest threat is being Coach Tanner, who guards the gym like a hawk when he doesn't have any classes to teach or lives to ruin. Just as Caroline and I are about to dart across the hallway and open the door to leave, Tanner walks back, muttering something about how sucky the football team is this year. I can't say that I don't disagree.

That's when Matt comes out of a classroom and he sees us and Coach Tanner. With one turn of the head, Tanner sees us and we're busted. God, no one should have to go through this much trouble to get a damn pregnancy test. Caroline mouths to Matt, "_Distract him._"

Matt nods, giving us a questioning raise of an eyebrow. But since it's Matt, he'll do it anyway. He walks over to Tanner and says, "Coach? I have a question about the play for Friday night."

Tanner groans and rolls his eyes. "Goddammit, Donovan, we went over this play for the past week everyday at everyday 3 hour practice. Maybe if you weren't too worried about being the pretty boy, you'll actually understand the play." They start walking down the hall together. I feel guilty for putting Matt in that situation. Matt's the best player our team has and now, because of me, he's getting scolded at by the Coach.

As quiet as my chucks and Caroline's flats could go, we cross the hall and slip outside the door. This is the only door in our school that lacks cameras outside. There's no getting back in either, the door locks from the outside. Klaus is out waiting for us in his expensive car. I never thought I'd be so grateful to see that spoiled bastard. Caroline gets in the passenger seat and I get in the back seat.

"Where are we going, loves?" He says in his thick British accent.

"Wal-Mart." Caroline says quickly. She's been surprisingly quiet since I revealed that I might be pregnant. I'm sure she's judging in her mind, though. She'll come around, though, I'm sure of it. Caroline may be a judgmental bitch sometimes, but at the end of the day, she's my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without her.

Klaus drives us to Wal-Mart. Klaus may be an arrogant asshole, but he knew that something was definitely wrong and he was respective enough not to say anything about it. I fumble with my fingers the whole way there. This is the car ride that I'll remember for the rest of my life. These are the moments that I'll remember for the rest of my life. I have to remind myself that it might not be true, that I might not even be pregnant. Bu, don't women just...know?

Once we arrived at Wal-Mart, Klaus waited in the car and Caroline and I went in the store. We just grabbed three random ones, the ones that said they were the most accurate. Despite the cliché that comes to a teenage girl buying a pregnancy test, no, the cashier did not give us weird looks as we were checking out. To him, I'm sure, it was just another pregnancy test bought. Directly after checking out, we went to the bathroom, which, like our school bathroom, was completely empty.

There was no other person I wanted more to be here with me than Caroline during all of this, except my Mother. Yes, Jenna and I are close. And yes, I'm in love with Damon. But they are going to be the hardest people to tell if this thing forms a little plus sign. I can't even fathom telling bad boy Damon he's going to be a Daddy. Once I finish all three tests, I come out of the stall. Caroline's standing there. I look at myself in the wide and long mirror, I'm paler than usual.

And now we wait.

Three minutes pass and the directions on the box told us that's how long we had to wait. I take a deep breath to steady myself and pick up a single pregnancy test. My future in a single white stick. I turn it over and the big pink plus sign was unmistakable. I suck in a deep breath. _Whoa_. Caroline reaches over me as I still stare in shock at the test in my hand. "These two are positive two." She mumbles.

"I figured." I finally let out my breath.

"Are you going to tell Damon?"

"Of course I am. Why would I keep a secret this big from him?" I say bitterly before I can stop myself. What's wrong with me lately? Can hormones really affect you this much?

Before I could apologize for my rudeness, Caroline finally voices her opinion, "You kept the whole unprotected sex thing from me! And now, look-" She gestures to the three pregnancy test in our hands. "you're pregnant because of that! You really need to control your libido!" Her voice is harsh.

I scoff. "Oh, stop being such a hypocrite! We were in the moment and I swore to myself that it would never happen it again! Don't pretend like you and Klaus never had unprotected sex before!"

"I'm not the pregnant one!"

Then I can't just take it anymore and I start crying. Caroline's expression softens and she pulls me into a tight hug, trying to calm me down. There's two constant fears looming over me: How am I going to tell Jenna? How am I going to tell Damon? A few minutes later, I'm shaking and a woman enters the bathroom, smiling at us politely before going into the stall. I take that as our cue to leave. I'm wiping away my tears, ignoring the stares from people as we leave Wal-Mart and get back into Klaus's car.

"What-?" Klaus starts but Caroline just shakes her head, giving him the 'I'll explain later' look. So he nods and starts driving. I settle back in my seat, plump tears rolling down my face the whole way there.

Once we get closer to town, Caroline looks back at me and says, "Do you want to come to my house?"

I shake my head. "No, Jenna should be back from her morning class by now." I say quietly, trying not to let my voice crack. Soon, the whole town will know that innocent little Miss Elena Gilbert got knocked up by the infamous town bad boy Damon Salvatore. Doesn't that just make for a lovely story?

"Do you want me to come with you?" She bites her lip.

I look down. "No. I think I'll handle this one alone."

Klaus pulls up to my house and I see Jenna's car parked on the street. I gulp. Caroline sighs heavily. "Text me then, okay? Or call me, whatever one you want. I can come over later, I'm not doing anything or you can come over to my house." She says quickly. She doesn't know what else to say.

I just nod. "Of course, Caroline." Then I add in to both Klaus and Caroline, "Thank you." I get out of the car and walk up the two steps to the front porch then go into my house. The house is extremely quiet and it just seems downright different. I don't know if that's just because Jeremy isn't here or because I'm about to tell Jenna something that will change all of our lives forever.

"Elena?" Jenna says as I'm walking into the kitchen. She's sitting at the kitchen table, which is cluttered in books and papers from her school. She stands up as soon as I enter, I start wiping away a few more stray tears. "What's wrong? What happened? Why aren't you in school?" She comes closer to me.

"Jenna...there's something I need to tell you..." I say quietly, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Does it have something to do with pregnancy tests?" She says, her voice is stern but her eyes are gentle. I don't know which to believe.

I swallow hard. "How do you know?" My voice cracks.

"Mrs. Roberts called, guess she saw you at Wal-Mart." Jenna sighs. "And from the tearstains on your face, I'm guessing that it's true. That you're pregnant."

I nod.

Jenna's own eyes water. I know what she's thinking, that she failed as a guardian. That she failed my parents to the duty she promised them. When that's not true at all. I failed her. My parents wouldn't be disappointed with her, they'd be disappointed with me. Even if they were still alive, chances are Caroline still would've convinced me to go to that stupid party and I would've still met Damon and got pregnant by him.

Jenna lets out a breath and her own eyes water. "Does Damon know?"

I shake my head. "Klaus took Caroline and I to the store." Then I pause and looks at her, "I'm scared, Jenna. Terrified."

So, she pulls me into a tight hug.

**Thank you all so much for waiting patiently for the next chapter. I haven't been too happy lately, despite it being summer, so I've just be in kind of a funk. No worries, though. If I'm not writing, I'm thinking about the story and plans for upcoming chapters.**

**Also, I got a review saying that the person was confused about when the Then and Now take place. So here's a bunch of dates when everything happens that I wrote in my notebook that I didn't put in the story. **

**Aubree was born June 17th, 2010. At the beginning of the story she is 2 years and 1 month. In this chapter, she is 2 years and 5 months.**

**Elena was born June 22nd, 1994. She is 18 when the story starts.**

**Damon was born April 28th, 1991. He is 21 when the story starts.**

**Elena parents died - April 2nd, 2009.**

**She met Damon - June 7th, 2009.**

**Started dating - June 29th, 2009.**

**First kiss - June 22nd, 2009.**

**First time having sex - September 30th, 2009.**

**Conceived Aubree - October 4th, 2009.**

**The THEN portion of the story takes place back in 2009 and the NOW portion takes place in 2012. Please tell me I have the math all right, because this all tends to confuse me. **

**Any other questions on the story? Please don't be afraid to ask. I don't bite, honestly. **

**Thank you, thank you, thank you for everyone who reads and reviews this. I appreciate every single review and I try to respond to all of them. If I don't respond, it's either because I'm an idiot and thought I already responded or because you're a guest and I can't respond. Love you all!**


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8 - "Daddy Damon"_

**Now****: Elena's POV**

"Aubs, do you want some hot chocolate?" I ask her. I bundled Aubree up in a heavy pink winter jacket with fur, fake obviously, around the hood. It was snowing lightly, just enough to create a white blanket on the ground. She nods and I pay the worker in the little stand in Central Park. He gives me a steaming cup of hot chocolate in return. "It's hot," I warn her. "Let me carry it until it cools down. I don't want you to burn your mouth."

Aubree nods. She's the go-with-the-flow kind of girl. Thank God.

Today, it's just me, Aubree, and Matt. Tyler and Caroline went out by themselves today. We told them that we were also leaving for the day. And I have a hunch they're going to cut their activities short and go back to the apartment for a different type of activity. _Aborting that mental picture now._

"You know, I didn't think I would like New York. Thought it was too big, too complicated to live in. But I actually really like it here. It's a good thing Ty and Caroline convinced us to move here." Matt says as we walk along the snow covered paths of Central Park. Aubree is having a hard time walking because she's wearing snow boots. So, she's waddling more than walking. She looks like a little penguin.

"Same here," I nod, agreeing with Matt. "And Aubree seems to like it. Apparently, she made a lot of friends back at her day care. Including boys." I chuckle, shaking my head.

Then Matt gets very stern. "Aubree is not dating until she's thirty." He sounds like a father. Then again, he technically is one. He basically raised Aubree.

"Thirty? I was thinking fifty-five." I laugh. It's so nice to just joke around like old times with Matt. I'm suddenly brought back to those Friday nights in middle school, we hated going to the dances that they held once a month, so we just stayed in with pizza and a cheap horror movie. That was before I met Damon. That was before Aubree. Don't get me wrong, I love Aubree more than my own life. But I would be lying if I said the days before Aubree weren't simpler.

It kind of works like this: BAM, you get pregnant and then suddenly the whole world revolves around that little life. You have to pee? Wrong. You have to wait until the baby is finished drinking her bottle. You have to sleep? Wrong. You have to rock that little girl to sleep as gentle as you can. You want to hang out with your friends? Wrong. You have to stay home and take care of that little life because that's your job. For some people, especially teenagers, it's a pain in the ass to have to stay home every night while your friends are out having fun. But, for me, I loved it. Aubree is my whole world and I don't know what I would do without her. Damon left and he missed out on this. On 's the stupid one.

Central Park is absolutely gorgeous in the window. The bare tree branches are covered in white snow, looking like thick spider webs as we walk beneath the natural archway they created. Off in a not-so-far distant, you could see the tall skyscrapers in the snowy haze in the atmosphere.

We stop when we come across a bench and sit down, Aubree between us. I think the hot chocolate is cooled enough so I give it to her and she sips it casually, giving herself a chocolate mustache. I smile at her. "It's just as cold here as it is in Virginia." Matt observed. His blond short hair has thousands of specks of white snow in it, making it look like he has bad dandruff.

I nod. "Yeah." I say quietly and look around.

There's a young couple, probably in their mid-teens, walking together with their hands entwined and fingers interlaced. The girl is beautiful with a short pixie hair and a heart-shaped face. The boy is just as handsome except with blond hair. I watch them as they walk. The boy stops and throws a snowball at the girl. She squeals and runs away, resulting in the boy chasing after her. So young, so innocent. I remember when I was like that, only a mere few years ago. And in a few years, that girl is going to be older and a mom and having to worry about how she's going to pay the bills and she's going to miss those silly carefree moments like that. She's going to sit back in a few years time when her forehead is covered with wrinkles caused by worry and say, "What happened?"

I shake my head, forcing those thoughts away. Just because I was young when I grew up, doesn't mean that's going to happen to everyone.

"Can I ask you something?" I say, turning to Matt.

Matt nods. "Anything."

"Do you think it's...appropriate for me to be dating Liam and bringing him around Aubree?" I bit my bottom lip. "And, now, with this all ball thing, I don't know, I just feel like I'm not being a good Mom towards Aubree, you know?" Matt's the only one I could talk to about these subjects. Of course, I'd always have Jenna and Jeremy but they lives hundreds of miles away and are too busy with their own lives. Caroline wouldn't understand and Tyler and I have never really been close enough.

He's silent for a little, immersed in his thoughts. Then he finally speaks, "Elena, you've been basically a single mom for the past two years of your life. The years when you were supposed to be out partying and drinking-" We both share a giggle since we know that I wouldn't do either of those things anyway. "-you were changing diapers and making bottles."

"But I did that because that's what I had to do." I argue.

"Not technically. You could've have always had an abortion or gave her up for adoption-"

"Those were never options for me and you know that." I say fiercely.

When it comes to the topic of abortion, I could never do it and that's my personal opinion. But if another woman wants an abortion then she should be able to get an abortion because that's her body and she should be able to do whatever she wants with it. With conversation about it with the father first, of course. As for adoption, I knew I just couldn't. I couldn't give away my little girl.

"I know, I know they weren't. But that's my point, you had choices and you refused those choices because you're an amazing mother, Elena. You could've dumped Aubree with a cheap babysitter and go out partying and drinking every night because that's what nearly every other person your age is doing. But you never did. You cared about Aubree more than yourself for two years and that's fantastic, it shows how compassionate and how level-headed you are."

I shrug. "Don't it make sound like such a big feat. All I did was wake up every morning, do what Aubree needs, then do my school work when she went to sleep."

"It is a big feat. You're a single mom because that bastard left. Sure, you had some help from me and Jeremy and Jenna, but you practically did it all on your own Elena. And I know that when Aubree grows up, she's going to be very proud of her mother."

"Thank you, Matt." I say with a smile forming on my lips. "That means a lot, to hear it from someone."

But he wasn't finished yet. "And I think Aubree would also want her Mommy to enjoy her life, her young years too. After all, you're starting to get pretty hold." He squints his eyes and looks at my hair. "Is that a gray hair...?" He reaches out but I spat his hand away quickly, laughing.

"Shut up! You're older than me."

He shrugs, grinning. "So, yes, go out and enjoy yourself with Liam as long as you don't forget about Aubree, which I know you never wouldn't. Go to that ball, have the time of your life and thank me afterwards. Just...no more babies."

Aubree abandons her half full cup of hot chocolate and resorts to playing around in the snow. Matt and I watch her. If you didn't know better, you'd think that Aubree was the daughter of Matt and me. "Do you ever miss him?" He asks quietly, his eyes still watching Aubree. I know instantly that he's talking about Damon.

"All the time." I admit. "I watch her and I see so much of him in her. Her eyes, the way she laughs, that little smirk she does when she knows she's in trouble." I give a little sad chuckle. "She asks about him." I look over at Matt, tears pooling in my eyes.

"What does she say?"

"'Mommy, will I ever get to see Daddy?'" I don't even bother to wipe away the tear that is rolling down my face. Matt looks at me like I'm a dead baby bird on the street. "I keep telling her that maybe one day, but we both know that that's never going to happen. And it kills me, Matt, it absolutely kills me because I was close to my Dad and I want her to be close with her Dad. I want him to put her on his shoulders and listen to her giggle with him." More tears come out and I just let them. I remember the joke my Mom used to tell me, that if I'm crying outside in the winter, my tears will turn to icicles.

Matt, with all the pity in the world, envelopes me into a tight embrace. "Do you still love him?" He questions in a whisper, stroking the back of my hair.

"Always," I say back. "He was my first love and you never forget your first love." I swallow hard, thinking about Liam. Not that I would ever cheat on Liam with anyone, but I always will love Damon. He might not always love me, but I will always love me. I'm bonded with him for life.

I pull away from our embrace and look over for Aubree. Only she's not there. Panic immediately swells inside of me and I stand up quickly. "Aubree!" I call out, but the little girl with the poufy pink jacket is no where in sight. I imagine the worst, that some serial killer kidnapped her and is going to silt her throat with a knife or that a rapist is going to rape her in a dirty public bathroom.

"Her footsteps!" Matt says, pointing to the trail of little footsteps that had to be made by no one other than Aubree. How could she get away this fast? We rush off, running as fast as we possibly could, following the trail of little footsteps Aubree made. I never thought I would be this happy that it's snowing.

We find her shortly afterwards. She giggling, looking up at the sky with her tongue sticking out and trying to catch snowflakes on it. I sigh in relief and cocoon her in my arms, holding her as tightly as I possibly can without hurting her. "Aubree Miranda Salvatore, you never ever run from me again, you hear me? You scared me so much, honey, I thought I was never going to see you again."

Aubree looks at me, her big blue eyes murky with tears. "I sorry, Mommy." She says and I know that my little speech scared her good. She wasn't going to run away again. I kiss the top of her head repeatedly, just glad to have my little girl back in my arms. That was the scare of a lifetime.

I look up at Matt who looks just as relieved as I feel. "Let's go home," He says and picks up Aubree, refusing to let her go. I walk next to them, my hands still shaking.

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

Instead of driving to my Dad's apartment, I decide to walk there since it's a beautiful day and just snowing a little. I walk through Central Park because my Dad's apartment overlooks it and the view is absolutely breathtaking. Well, not for me anymore. I'm used to it by now. That's what drives me nuts about New York City tourists, they claim it's the most beautiful and lively city, but once you live here long enough, it's just like a big town with tall buildings and thousands of pizza places.

Hands with pockets, leather jacket on, and boots making imprints in the fine layer of snow, I walk along the paths, people watching. Even though I hate people. I see a young couple walking and throwing snowballs at each other, laughing annoyingly. The girl has very short hair and the boy had blond hair. I roll my eyes as the girl runs in front of him, taunting, "You can't catch me!" But, of course, the boy catches her and the girl erupts into more giggles.

Idiots.

That's not what real love is like. And for sure, real love does not consist of throwing snowballs at each other while running through Central Park and being a nuisance to all life, including the bugs that are deep underground.

Real love is a constant battle between what you want and what you need.

I stop myself, amazed by my own pattern of thinking. Is Katherine what I want? Absolutely. Is Katherine what I need? I think so. I mean, every man needs great sex in their life and she's the definition of great sex. Every man needs a woman who is willing to cook and clean for them and Katherine can do just that. I decide that this is all just cold feet and so I continue walking my short journey to my father's apartment.

Off in a short distant, I can see a little girl sitting right on the ground in the snow, attempting to pull her hideous snow boots off. That's obviously not going to work because the mittens she's wearing are too thick. I watch her, not trying to be a creeper. She can't be older than three. There's a sudden ache inside my chest. I sigh as I watch her, dark brown curls are peeking out from her hair. She looks up and we made eye contact for a split second. She has these blue eyes that could make anyone smile and I do, I smile at her and she returns the favor. She reminds me so much of Aubree, so innocent and so perfect. But Aubree is back with Elena in Virginia. Maybe I'm going crazy, nervousness about talking to my father. So, I leave the scene.

In a few minutes time, I'm out of Central Park and in the elevator up to my father's penthouse. I hang up my jacket, kick off my boots and sit next to him on the brown leather couch. He has the fire going on the news playing while he's typing on his laptop. "Good afternoon, father." I sat, propping my feet up at the coffee table and putting my hands behind my hand.

He peers up from his laptop and frowns deeply at me. "Feet off the table, Damon." He snaps. He reminds me of one of those old snapping turtles when he's angry. The ones with the long and fatty wrinkly chin. I resist a chuckle as I do what he says and return my arms to my sides.

"Where's Stefan?" I ask, looking around the empty penthouse. I stop and stare at the view of Central Park just for a little, remembering the little girl. I swallow hard and think of the last time I say Aubree. She was just a baby, so little and oblivious to the chaotic world around her.

"Out with one of his friends. Should be reading-" My father start but since I don't want to listen to him, I tune him out casually. If not listening to my father complain was a sport, I'd be in the Olympics. Seriously.

Finally, whenever he stops blabbing, I look at him. "Father? There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," I say. He raises a questioning eyebrow at me and shuts his computer and sets it aside on the table.

"Well, what is it, son?" He asks impatiently and I sigh. My father still dresses like he's from the early 1900s. All he's missing is a top hat and a cane. And I'm sure a cane is coming very soon, he's getting old. His face is covered in wrinkles and he is sprouting gray hairs.

"As you know, Katherine and I've been dating for a while now and I really love her." I bit my lip, I didn't know how to exactly bring this up so I decide to just blurt it out, "I wanted to see your opinion about proposing to Katherine."

A huge smile breaks out on his face and I feel like I'm finally doing something that'll make him proud. If I knew that proposing to Katherine would make him this happy, then I would've done it a long time ago. "Of course, son. Why don't we celebrate?" He stands up. "A glass of champagne, maybe?"

I laugh a little and shake my head. "No, no, no champagne for me. Sit back down, Father." I insist and he does. Of course I'm glad he approved of my proposal to Katherine. Then again, he didn't have a single reason in the world to oppose it. Katherine is rich on her own, she's independent and she comes from a very wealthy family.

"I told you would thank me in the future. Remember when you were dating that, uh, what was her name? That boring brunette-" He starts and I'm suddenly angry at him all over again. Boring is nowhere near a quality of Elena's.

"Elena, Father. Her name is Elena." I spat.

"Er, right, Elena. I knew you could do better than her. Aren't you happy that I saved you from that life with her, son? I saved you from being a father at such a young age. And, now, look at you, a wealthy lawyer in New York, the greatest city in the world, and a beautiful soon-to-be fiancée." He says, bathing in self-admiration.

I nod and stand up. "I hate to cut this little outing short, but I have to go. Katherine should be getting home," I mumble, getting annoyed with him. I thought I was being the ideal son with asking his father his opinion for getting married and he brings up and bashes on Elena. I just want to get out of here.

"Uh, son, when do you plan on proposing? Soon, I'm assuming. New Year's Eve is that far away, that would be a joyous time to propose. Or maybe even Christmas-" He starts rambling.

"The Pierce Family Christmas Ball." I cut him off. "Katherine's whole family is going to be there, I figure that would be a lovely time." I roll my eyes and leave his penthouse, emerging into the snowy streets of the city.

* * *

**Then****: Elena's POV**

Damon knows that I'm sick but he doesn't know that in a few months he's going to be a father. Jenna warns me that I should tell him as soon as possible. So he's coming over tonight. The three of us, Jenna, Jeremy, and me, are sitting at the kitchen table in complete and absolute silence. Jenna told Jeremy when he came home from school while I was crying up in my room. I heard him shouting from downstairs and Jenna's desperate pleas to calm him down. Jeremy threatened to kill him. He has taken over the role of the protective father for me. But he's not mad at me, not at all even though it's half my fault for this.

Normally, I cannot eat while I'm nervous. I'm eating for two now, though, so I gulp down two helpings of the meatloaf, a Gilbert family recipe, corn and sweet potatoes and still have room for a slice of cherry pie. As I munching on the delicious pie, Jeremy looks over at me. "What time is he coming?"

"Eight." I answer. With a glance at the clock, I see that he's 7:47. I get butterflies in my stomach all over ago. How do you exactly prepare for someone the news you're about to give them? Do I just come right out and say it or do I hint at it until he figures it out for himself. "And I want the both of you out of the house," I say, looking at both Jenna and Jeremy.

Jeremy frowns. "What? No way, Elena!"

Jenna simply sighs and nods. "Jeremy, give them some privacy. This is a huge and life changing day for both of them. We'll go for a quick walk, maybe then you could work off some of your anger."

He grumbles something I can't make out.

It's all so strange, the realization that in just a few months, I'll be a Mom. With Damon, a guy I've only been dating for a few months. I'm terrified at all the possibilities that could go wrong. Of all the things, Damon leaving scares me the most. He won't do that, though, I keep reminding myself. He says he loves me so he won't leave. Right...?

"All I'm saying is that he shouldn't be able to prance in here after what he did to my sister." Jeremy says, his arms crosses against his chest. I sigh, moving the crumbs around on my plate with my fork, having no energy to argue with him.

"Just give him a break, Jeremy." Jenna sighs, collecting the dirty dishes and going over to the sink with them. I know that Jenna is angry with Damon, too, but at least she's containing it. Jeremy, on the other hand, looks like a bull ready to attack.

"I'm going up to my room." I announce and get up from the table. Once in the safety of my room, I lay down on my bed and stare up at the ceiling. Exactly one year ago from today, everything was so perfect. My parents were still alive and I wasn't dating an older, complicated boy with the reputation of being bad. Instead of having sex, I was playing Guitar Hero with Jeremy on my Saturday nights and we thought we were the best to ever play. I never knew how much things could change in just a single year. It's insane.

Just like that, in a single second, my reputation is gone and Damon's reputation is enhanced.

Jenna calls up a few minutes later, "We're going, Elena!"

I don't feel like responding. Simply, I just lay there and pretending I'm staring up at the stars. When eight o'clock rolls around, someone knocks at the door. I know it's Damon. Groaning, I force myself out of the comfort of my bed and go downstairs. When I open the door, Damon's grinning at me like he doesn't have a care in the world. He frowns once he sees me. "You okay? Are you still sick? You really should go see a doctor." He says, stepping inside.

"I'm not sick." I shake my head, closing the door after him. I stare down at the floor, refusing to look at him. Unlike Jeremy and Jenna, I'm not mad at Damon. I can't be. That was a stupid decision we made together when we weren't thinking.

"Lena, you're obviously sick because you've been vomiting your guts up." He says and I imagine him rolling his eyes as he says it. He walks over and sits down casually on the couch. "Come here,"

Slowly, I walk over and sit down on his lap. He wraps his arms around me, holding me close. He senses something is wrong. "Elena, what's wrong?" He asks, his eyebrows knotted together. That's when I can't hold it in anymore and start bawling my eyes out like a baby. No pun intended. He wipes away my tears with the pad of his thumbs and kisses my forehead. "What's wrong?" He repeats.

I swallow hard. It's now or never. I look up at him, his eyes laced with concern. Then I just think that I want our baby to have his eyes because he has such pretty eyes. And he's so handsome and if we have a baby boy he would look exactly like his father or maybe a little girl would look exactly like him. It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl as long as it looks like Damon because Damon is perfect and somewhere in the middle of all my thoughts, I say, "I'm pregnant."

He blinks.

"I'm pregnant." I repeat a little louder.

"I know."

Gently, he pushes me off his lap and stands up. He starts pacing back and forth across my living room, running his hand through his raven black hair. I pull my knees up and rest my chin on them, still crying this time without Damon to wipe the tears away. "Goddammit, how could I have been so stupid? I could've swore I pulled out in time. I know I did but apparently I didn't because you're here saying that you're pregnant. Please tell me that this is just some cruel early April Fool's Day joke, right?" I shake my head. "Of course it's not. I-I don't know if I could this, Elena. I _can't_ do this." I watch on helplessly as he sits down on the chair and puts his head in his hands.

After I calm down and stop crying, I get up and come over to him. I kneel down in front of him and remove his hands from his face. Oh my God, he's been crying. I never thought I'd see the great Damon Salvatore cry. So, like he did with me, I reach up and wipe the tears away from his face. "Damon, there's no way I'm going to be able to do this without you."

He sighs and pulls me up in his lap once again, wrapping his arms around me again. He whispers in my ear, "I'm so sorry, Elena."

I shake my head, "It's both of our faults. You shouldn't be apologizing." If I'm not mistaken, I could see him glancing at my stomach a lot. There's no swell there, not yet. I'm guessing that I won't have much time until there is, though. Then I gulp and look at him, "Please don't leave me."

The corner of his lips turn up in a small smirk and he says, "I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart." And he kisses me gently.

**Chapter 8 done! One more chapter and then THE BALL! Are you guys excited because I know I am! Happy 4th of July to anyone in America and consider this chapter your little 4th present. **

**So, I had a little freak out moment today because my Mom brought home a bottle of bourbon (I promise you, she's not an alcoholic. She got it for some recipe) and, of course, I thought of Damon. Then I saw that there was a CROW on the bottle. A crow on a bourbon bottle, ladies and gentlemen. Damon Salvatore.**

**Hope you all are enjoying your summer and thank you all so much for reading and reviewing and favoriting and following. It means so much. I really am happy that you're all liking the story! **


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9 - "Dresses and Rings"_

**Now****: Elena's POV**

Caroline nearly fainted when I told her the news of the ball, mostly because I'll need a dress. And, as Liam explained to me, the occasion doesn't call for a nice cocktail dress that skims the top of your knees. No, he means big ball gowns that would make Snow White jealous.

Life is quite the same for us in New York City. For me, it's eat, sleep, work, and take care of Aubree. For Matt, Tyler, and Caroline, it's eat, sleep, and school. As for Aubree, well it's eat, sleep, and play. Lucky her, right? Today I worked from eleven to four and Liam was working with me the whole day. Just as I'm finishing wiping my last table for the day, he comes up and wraps his arms around my waist from behind. Then he whispers in my hair, "Hi."

I smile and leave the dirty wet cloth on the table then turn around and look at him. He holds me close to him, our stomachs touching. "Hey." I have to tilt my chin up to look at him because he's so tall. "Caroline should be here any minute now. I'm warning you, she'll probably drive you crazy. She has a motor mouth." I chuckle.

His mouth twists into a sloppy but kind grin. "I've known plenty of those in my lifetime. I'm sure we'll get along just fine." He kisses my forehead.

_Ugh_. In my humble opinion, forehead kisses are plenty better than neck and cheek kisses combined. Neck kisses are more sexual, they're a tactic to turn a woman on and they work 99% of the time and cheek kisses are too friendly, like something old friends do when they haven't seen each other in years. But, forehead kisses are a way of saying, "Hey. I love you and I care about you." in the sweetest way you can possibly imagine. Forehead kisses, especially from Liam, make my insides feel like they're going to melt.

"All you have to worry about is getting a pretty dress to fit on that pretty body of yours." He tells me and concludes his sentence with a kiss on my nose.

I sigh softly and chew on my bottom lip. "Are you sure that you're willing to pay for my dress?" Liam knows that I'm low on cash and Jenna surely can't scrape up extra hundreds of dollars to pay for a dress. Besides, if I was given that much money, I would much prefer to spend it on things for Aubree. So, Liam offered to pay for my dress, an offer that I still don't if I could accept.

"I'm positive. I'm forcing you into attending this stupid ball, the least I could do is pay for your dress. Besides, I'm not even paying for it. My parents are and they love you and they're excited to introduce you to the rest of my crazy family." He rolls his eyes. This isn't the first time today I checked to make sure he was absolutely okay with paying for my dress.

"I know. But-" I start. He plays that romantic move that is in nearly every chick-flick possible and shuts me up by kissing me. I don't object though, no matter how cliché it is. How could you even object to a Liam kiss? That'd be like objecting to a Ryan Gosling kiss. God, why does my mind think of absolutely pointless things while kissing. _Just focus on the kiss_. So I do just that and let my mind succumb into complete mush.

"Aw. Look at you two. Being a coupley and stuff." It's Caroline's voice. Both Liam and I turn our heads towards her. She was beyond thrilled when I told her that she'll be meeting Liam today.

Aubree is holding onto Caroline's hand. Of course I wanted Aubree here while I go dress shopping. She has a better taste in fashion than I do. I smile at her. Upon realizing how close I am to Liam and how Aubree just witness Liam and I kissing, I pull away from him quickly and go over to her, picking her up and propping her on my arms. "Hey there, pretty girl. Did Auntie Caroline get you here safely?" I obviously know she did.

She nods, the clip in her thin hair becoming loose and threatening to fall out. "She gots me ice cream!" Aubree exclaims so loudly that I'm sure everyone is the restaurant turned and looked at her. I don't care though. You get used to stares and glares when you have a kid, the glares usually come when Aubree is throwing a tantrum.

"You really can't keep a secret, can you?" Caroline says to Aubree. Aubree just shrugs. Both of them know that I have a strict 'no ice cream before dinner' policy. But since it's an important day for me and Aubree deserves it, I don't mind. All moms should let the rules slide by once in a while.

"You must be Liam." Caroline says, excitement in her voice as she steps closer to him. She holds out her manicured hand towards him. "I'm Caroline, Elena's best friend."

Liam breaks out into a large smile and shakes her hand, his large hand dwarfing her small hand drastically. "Yeah, I know. She told me a lot about you."

"It better be all good." Caroline smiles then turns her head and looks at me. "Ready to go, Lena? We don't have that much time to shop for a dress and I think Aubree is getting hungry. It's not like I let her have _that_ much ice cream."

"Yeah, just let me grab my bag." I leave the scene with Aubree in my arms quickly, dashing into the kitchen, retrieving my cheap purse I think was a hand-me-down from Caroline, then go back into the dining area, where it looks like Liam and Caroline are engaged in a conversation. "Ready." I say.

"Wait, almost forgot something." He reaches in his pocket and pulls out his credit card. I frown at it but I accept it anyway. "Don't go too crazy." He jokes with a chuckle.

"You know I won't." I say with all the seriousness in the world.

Caroline, Aubree, and I leave Half Life, leaving Liam behind. Don't ask me where we're going, Caroline is the one who knows all the best shops in New York to get the dress. I'm just here to try it on and find my size, I'm getting Caroline pick it out. After a quick subway ride and a few blocks to walk, we end up at some boutique. Caroline smiles wide, so wide I'm unsure of how her mouth gets that big.

When we step inside, I could see why Caroline is so excited, the place is filled from wall to wall with dresses. Small dresses, big dresses, yellow dresses, black dresses, purple dresses, skanky dresses, sophicasted dresses, every type of dress you could possibly imagine. Here it all was, in a petite building smack-dab in the middle of Manhattan. "Caroline!" A woman with an extremely perky voice says and rushes over to Caroline, hugging her tightly. The woman has fire engine red hair and her face is dusted with a fine layer of freckles.

"Nancy!" Caroline smiles and hugs the ginger woman back. Oh, so this is why Caroline dragged me this far for a dress. I wonder if I can get a discount since Caroline knows the worker here... "This is my best friend, Elena, and her daughter, Aubree." Caroline introduces us to Nancy.

"So nice to meet you." Nancy holds out her pale hand and I shake it politely, giving her my best smile. "Caroline is one of my most loyal customers, even though she just moved here a few months ago. She has talked plenty about you." Nancy tells me. I try not to laugh. That's Caroline for you, always blabbing away to strangers about her personal life.

"Elena needs a dress." Caroline explains to Nancy.

"What's the occasion?" Nancy asks, her ivy green eyes already scanning the endless racks of dresses that line the walls of the small store.

"A ball," I answer casually, setting Aubree down so she can run around, wear off all that sugar the ice cream gave her.

"Not just any ball." Caroline smirks. "It's the ball of the family of her future husband."

Embarrassed, I nudge her in the ribs lightly.

"The Pierce Family Ball?" Nancy raises one of her heavily penciled eyebrows. Caroline and I both know, curious as to why she would know of the ball. "Oh! That's something everyone in New York looks forward to. Especially with Katherine being that Victoria's Secret model! Now we really have to get you a gorgeous dress!"

[...]

Two hours later, filled with trying on dress after dress, I think we finally found the one. Surprisingly, but cutely, Aubree picked it out. It was cramped in the back of a rack in the rear of the store. Aubree discovered it while she was still running off her energy from the ice cream. "Mommy! Try dis one on!" So I did and ended up absolutely loving it.

Since Aubree loves her pink, the dress is pink, of course. But not a bright, hot pink. It's vague in the pink category, definitely more of a salmon. The neckline is sweetheart and on the bodice is silver gemstones. It's not the cheap kind of gemstones either. And it's absolutely, undeniably gorgeous. Caroline and Nancy agree that all eyes will be on me as I step in. I hope Liam likes it.

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

"So what are you looking for? What color ring? Colorless, yellow? How many karats? 16? 18?" Stefan blabs as the both of us walk down the street toward the jewelry store that has been in business for plenty of years now. It's where my father bought my mother's ring. There was no way in hell I was letting my father attend this little trip with me. So, I chose Stefan. Although he hasn't shut up the whole way here.

I blink at him. "I don't even want to know how you know that stuff."

The truth is, I wish I knew that stuff. I didn't drop any hints about proposing to Katherine and now I'm kind of regretting it because that means Katherine couldn't drop any hints on the type of ring she wants. What the hell are even karats? There's no way they put the orange vegetables in engagement rings. I would ask Stefan, but I don't want to sound like an idiot.

"Here it is, Markus's Jewelry. Opened since 1911." Stefan says as we stand outside the building. It's a small building, set dead center in Manhattan. "Father said that the Markus family has been friends with the Salvatores for ages. You knows, maybe they'll even give you a discount." He shrugs.

"I'm Damon Salvatore. I don't need discounts." I roll my eyes.

"Just because we're one of the richest families in Manhattan, doesn't mean you can let it go to your head." Stefan retorts.

Stefan and I have never been exceptionally close. Let me give you the brief but tragic history of the Salvatore family. The Salvatore family is originally from Italy, on the beautiful coast known as Calabria. Our ancestors immigrated to America during the mid-1800s, right around the time when America was divided into the bloody Civil War. As a matter of fact, our ancestor, Giuseppe Salvatore, whom our father was named after, was brutally killed during the Battle Of Gettysburg as a member of Armistead's Brigade in Pickett's Charge. Anyway, our family lived in Mystic Falls, Virginia and is still considered members of the Founding Families, even though a few years later, our family traveled to New York. Now, the modern day Salvatore family, we lived in Mystic Falls for a few years, moved to New York, moved back to Mystic Falls, and now we're finally back in New York again. The city of dreams.

Now, for the tragic part. Life was content when I was a child. My Father was always immersed in his work but my Mother was a kind and gentle woman and she basically raised me. It's not like my Father abandoned me or was harsh to be as a child, he was just a workaholic. A few years later, I was in need of a constant playmate and my parents both decided on having another baby. My Father worked is magic in the bedroom and soon it looked like my Mom swallowed a watermelon. And, thus, Stefan was born. But, my Mother already weak from my birth just couldn't handle the childbirth process and died just a couple hours after my brother's arrival. Father was devastated. He worked more, hired a nanny. And that was that. He formed high expectations for the both of us, ones that I failed to impress him with. Since our father worked so much, Stefan and I had no choice but to become close. Our mother was dead and we were dependent on each other.

I just know the outline of my childhood and I can barely recall any memories of it. Stefan says it's because I block those memories out, all the good and the bad.

"Let's just go in," I insist. So, we do. The room is tiny and a long glass counter snakes around the room. The counter is filled with endless amounts of rings and necklaces and bracelets and earrings. They all look the same to me. All are gold or silver and have bright diamonds on them. Why are girls so obsessed with jewelry? You pay a thousand bucks for a pair of earrings, wear them a few times, show it off to your friends, and then grow old of it and get a new pair shortly after.

What looks like to be the owner, an older man with extremely bushy eyebrows stands behind one counter, cleaning off the glass. He looks up at us, adjusts his glasses and smiles warmly, "Hello, boys. What can I help you with?"

Stefan and I approach him. "Hello. We're Damon and Stefan Salvatore," I introduce us. "sons of Giuseppe Salvatore." The name Salvatore can get you anywhere.

The old man smiles wider. "Ah, Mr. Salvatore. Good friend, good friend." He says. "I'm Mark Markus," Both of us shake hands with him. His hands are sweaty and wrinkly. They feel like wet raisins. "Now, what brings you two fine young lads here today?" He says, putting his hands on the newly cleaned counter.

"An engagement ring." I answer with a grin.

"An engagement ring?" Mr. Markus repeats, nodding his head and smiling. "Who's the lucky woman?"

"Katherine Pierce," I say, looking at all the rings below us. "Are these the engagement rings? I'm sorry, I barely know anything when it comes to jewelry."

Stefan says, "That's why I'm here. I know a thing or two about jewelry." I really don't know how Stefan is so knowledgeable about jewelry and I really don't want to find out.

Mr. Markus chuckles. "Wait, Katherine Pierce? As in the Pierce family?"

I nod. "Oh, yes, that's the one." I grin. I'm so proud of my girlfriend and her family. And this ring will seal our two families for life. Besides getting a formal education and taking over the Salvatore business and not getting Elena pregnant while in high school, I think this is one of the best things that will ever make him proud of me. And, I mean, it's a win-win. I get _Katherine._

Stefan and I look over the sets of engagement rings and then I hear the strangest and weirdest conversation of my life and the only reason it's so strange is because it takes place between two men.

"What kind of cut are you looking for?" Mr. Markus asks.

"Brilliant is my personal favorite." Stefan replies with.

"Clarity?"

"I think Katherine would like flawless."

"Color?"

"Colorless."

"Karat?"

"18."

I blink. _What the hell did I just listen to?_ Since I'm completely lacking in the knowledge of rings and jewelry, I fully trust Stefan. He knows Katherine very well too and I'm sure he knows what she would like.

After a few seconds of searching, Mr. Markus pulls out a ring. Well, it has a skinny silver band and a huge diamond in the middle with a few smaller diamonds in clusters on the side of the huge diamond. "How about this one?" Mr. Markus asks. I look up at Stefan and he nods in approval.

Then I look back at Mr. Markus and smile, "We'll take it."

* * *

**Then****: Elena's POV**

"How do you think your father is going to react when we tell him?" I ask Damon, who's pacing nervously back and forth in my bedroom. He looks funny in here. Everything else is all girly and light and happy. Then there's Damon with his raven black hair and black t-shirt and intense blue eyed gaze. I'm laying on my stomach with my pillow beneath me, watching him.

Damon scoffs and finally stops pacing. He looks right at me, "He has this expectation for me and Stefan. He wants us to get perfect grades in school, go to a perfect college, graduate from college with a perfect grade, work at the perfect Salvatore Law Office, find a perfect wife, have the perfect wedding, and pop out the perfect grandchildren." He sighs and sits down on my bed next to me. "Getting you pregnant right now definitely isn't perfect."

I scoot myself up and curl up next to him. He wraps an arm around me protectively and kisses the top of me head. "You're not perfect, Damon. No one is. His expectations for you are impossible." I tilt my head up and look at him. "You're only human. You're bound to fail at least once in your life."

He shrugs. "That doesn't matter to him. We're the Salvatores. Perfect is in our blood." He says quietly and rests his chin on the top of my head. "We'll be okay, though. I promise. We're in this together."

"I hate to burst your bubble, Damon, but you're going to make a mistake. This," I glance down quickly at my stomach. "isn't a mistake, though. I mean...the unprotected sex was the mistake. Not the baby." I say truthfully because I love the baby already. How could a woman not? It's been growing in my stomach and it will for the next nine months. It's beautiful, really.

The corners of his lips upturn in a slight smile. "I know. I never said it-"

"The baby." I correct him.

"I never said the baby was a mistake." He grins and kisses me. Light and sweet. Just how I like them. "I also hate to burst your bubble, my Dad isn't exactly your biggest fan. He just expects all my girlfriends to be rich and famous and maybe that's just not how I like them." He shrugs. I don't know if I should be insulted or flattered.

"Money and fame aren't everything." I shrug. It's a lesson my mother taught me very early in life when Candice Harris bought this really expensive but beautiful doll and I really wanted one but my mom refused to pay that much for a doll that I would eventually get tired of. Now, looking back, I don't blame her.

"It is to my father." Damon says.

I swallow hard. I'm really not looking forward to telling Mr. Salvatore that he's going to be a grandpa.

[...]

I'm practically clinging onto Damon as we arrive at the Boarding House. I get a wave of nausea and I can only hope that I won't run away vomiting. But I guess that's only normal when you're pregnant. Damon senses my nervousness and kisses my forehead. "I'm right here, okay? My Father might scream and yell, but he's not going to hurt you."

"I'm not afraid of him hurting me." I shake my head. "It's just...Jenna and Jeremy didn't react so well and they aren't nearly as strict as your father."

He doesn't say anything to that, he just sighs and we go inside his house. It looks different this time. This time the portraits on the walls of the Civil War Generals seem daunting, like they're watching me as I walk into my doom. I gulp. Damon rubs the small of my back to attempt to comfort me.

We go up the small flight of stairs and into what Damon tells me is his father's study. The room is dim, only light by a chestnut color Tiffany lamp. The walls are lined with cherry wood bookcases and the bookcases are stuffed with old, dusty books. I wonder when the last time he dusted this place was. I'm guessing before my birth.

His Father looks up at us, wearing his round spectacles. "Damon, son, and Elena, right?" He says. I wonder how scared we must look to him. I look up at Damon, I don't think I'll be saying anything. I don't think I could even comprehend a sentence.

"Father, there is something we have to tell you." Damon says. He doesn't look so nervous anymore. He's calm, collected. I take hold of his hand tightly and he squeezes in response. _Everything is going to be okay._ I keep telling myself over and over again.

Mr. Salvatore arches one of his thin eyebrows and takes off his glasses, setting them down on his desk. His frown is undeniable. "I take it that it's not the best of news?" He glances over at me. I'm biting my lip so hard that I'm afraid I'll soon start tasting blood, so I stop.

"It's all about perspective," Damon shrugs.

"Tell me this news, then." Mr. Salvatore crosses his arms.

"Elena's pregnant."

I didn't know two words could anger a man that much.

Mr. Salvatore stands up quickly, his face as red as blood. His hands are shaking with anger. He looks at me in disgust like I'm an old smelly trashcan. I'm suddenly afraid that he's going to punch my stomach so, like a coward, I hide behind Damon. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU JUST DID TO THIS FAMILY?!" Mr. Salvatore shouts at him like they're a football field away.

"I do know what I did to this family. I'm adding another person to it. Another person who you're going to put pressure on to become a fancy lawyer at the fancy Salvatore Law Office." Damon says, scary calm. I clutch his arm.

"NO! YOU DESTROYED IT. A CHILD? YOU'RE SO YOUNG, DAMON! THIS IS GOING TO RISK HARVARD FOR YOU! AND A BABY WITH HER?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Do _not_ talk about Elena like that, you understand me?" Damon says in a tone that even makes Mr. Salvatore coward a little. Just a little. "I get that love is a foreign concept to you, but I love Elena. And just because you're still bitter about some feud between the Salvatore and the Gilberts that happened 150 years ago that you weren't even involved in, doesn't mean you have any right to hate her."

A feud between the Salvatores and the Gilberts? That's something I never heard of before. I wonder what it was over. It reminds me of the Hatfields and the McCoys. I just don't get how Mr. Salvatore can still be angry with me and my family over something that long ago. Something that I didn't even know existed. It's just ridiculous, honestly.

"It's not just the feud, son! A child...a child will ruin your life! Don't you get it? I'm only trying to protect you! And, you aren't going to spend the rest of your life with her!" Mr. Salvatore spats. I would be lying if I said I wasn't insulted.

Damon grits his teeth and clenches his fists. "Well, I did get Elena pregnant, father. And I fully intend on spending the rest of my life with her. You're just going to have to accept that." He takes my hand and leads me out of the study, leaving his angry father behind. I think I just heard the Tiffany lamp shatter.

* * *

**Okay, so I have bittersweet news.**

**Good news - NEXT CHAPTER IS THE BALL. **

**Bad news - I'm going on vacation this week, so I don't know if I'll be able to update. I'm going to try to write as much as I can while on vacation, but I mean...it's vacation. And I'm already planning something else...**

**I NEED YOUR OPINIONS! PLEASE READ! - I'm already starting to plan my next story. It's not Vampire Diaries, it's Hunger Games. And it's not Katniss or Peeta or Gale, instead, it's their children. It's about Alia Mellark and Hunter Hawthorne, children of Gale, Katniss, and Peeta. Their families still aren't talking to each other because of Prim. And...well, Alia and Hunter get close. I have big plans for this story and I'm thinking sequels. I don't want to give much away but I'm really excited to start writing it and I hope you guys like the idea. I guess there are plenty of Mellark daughter falls with love with Hawthorne son stories on here, but I promise it's going to be different and exciting.**

**I mentioned briefly in this story about the Battle of Gettysburg. For those of you who don't know, the Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle fought in the Civil War, a war that divided the North and South because of slavery. I visited the battle field before and it's such a beautiful but tragic and somber place.**

**Pickett's Charge, where Confederate soldiers charged again Union soldiers, was a major fail for the Confederate army. (Confederate is South, Union is North) More than half of the Confederate soldiers who did that charge were either killed, injured, or captured. I'm a history geek and I stood on the spot where that happened. And it's just so...scary but inspiring.**

**One of my favorite stories about Gettysburg took place during Pickett's Charge. Two men named Armistead and Hancock fought together in a war before the Civil War and became best friends. When the Civil War started, Armistead fought for the Confederacy and Hancock fought for the Union. Armistead told Hancock that if he ever was in a battle against Hancock, may God strike him dead, or something along those lines. Flash-forward to Battle of Gettysburg, July 3rd 1863, Pickett's Charge. Armistead is a Brigadier General under General Pickett and Hancock is a General in the Union Army. Armistead makes his charge, right against Hancock's forces. Both Hancock and Armistead are shot. Hancock survives his injury but Armistead dies a few years later. They never saw each other again. I stood at the spot where Armistead fell and he's one of the most inspiring soldiers to me. **

**So, yeah, there's a little history lesson for you. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I got to 50 Favorites! WOOHOO! Oh, and BTW, sometimes I get emailed that I got new reviews on here, but they don't show on the sight. So if you write a review and it takes me a while to get back, it's because of that. **


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10 - "Nightmare Before Christmas"_

**Now****: Elena's POV**

_Wake up, it's time, little girl, wake up_

_All the best of what we've done is yet to come_

_Wake up, it's time, little girl, wake up_

_Just remember who I am in the morning._

December 24th. To most it's known as Christmas Eve. But this year, to me, it's known as Christmas Eve and the day of the Pierce Family Ball. I don't know why I'm so nervous. Maybe it's because I'm meeting the rest of Liam's family tonight. Sure, his parents and sister like me but who's to say that his strict aunt or stern uncle will? What are they going to say when I tell them that I have a daughter? People are quick to judge before knowing the whole story.

Caroline and Tyler went home for the holidays. Since Matt and I are too poor to afford plane tickets home, we decided to make the best of our little Christmas that we'll be sharing together. We strung lights around the outside window of our apartment. Well, Matt did. I was too busy screaming at him to be careful of his footing. One misstep and I'd be scraping his body off the ground. Neither of us wanted anything too spectacular for a Christmas dinner so we agreed on Chinese food. What better way to celebrate the birth of Jesus? We even set up a pathetic Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the living room. Aubree thinks it's the prettiest thing the world and stares at the sparkly lights and bright round ornaments.

While I'm preparing Aubree her lunch, there's a knock at the door. Really, Matt and I aren't expecting any company. It's probably Liam but then I remember that Liam is helping his family get all ready for the ball. Even though it's well past noon, Matt comes in the living room with his pajamas still on and squinting his eyes from the shock of the bright lights. "Who's that?" He asks, a yawn interrupting him halfway through.

"I'm about to find out," I mumble and head to the door. When I open it, I think it's the best surprise I ever got.

There are Jenna and Jeremy, smiling merrily and decked out with Santa hats. Immediately, they engulf me into a tight hug. They weren't supposed to be here. They had said that money was tight and because of that, they weren't able to get plane tickets. Tears pool in my eyes when I see them. I didn't see them since July. "Oh, I'm so happy you guys could make it!" I smile wide, sniffling.

Jeremy laughs as he pulls off his Santa hat, revealing a turf of messy hair beneath. "What? Did you think we'd actually miss spending a Christmas with you?" He says, plopping the Santa hat down on my head. Aubree runs over to us, smiling a smile that seems too big for her face. Jeremy scoops her up quickly, holding her above his head. "There's my favorite girl!" He laughs, pulling her down just enough to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Uncly Germy!" Aubree squeals with delight. Then she orders him to go take a look at our little Christmas tree.

I turn to Jenna and see that she's getting teary eyed too. "Of course we came. I can't believe you actually believed us when we told you we weren't. It was all Jeremy's idea to surprise you. I wouldn't miss your ball for the world." She says, pulling me into another tight hug.

"Oh, Jenna." I smile, taking in her familiar scent of lavender. It reminds me so much of home. "Wait until you meet Liam. You'll like him," I say, pulling away from our hug.

"I sure hope I do." Jenna says. "And I like his family too, from what you told me. Dad owns a major business and his Mom and sister are models. Imagine the huge wedding that you two would have." She smirks and I'm grateful she didn't mention Damon at all.

"Speaking of that model sister, you have to introduce me to her." Jeremy butts into the conversation.

Matt laughs. "Don't even try, bro. I already asked."

I shoot them both a glare. "She has a boyfriend, you idiots."

"So?" says Jeremy. "Most girls have boyfriends and that doesn't stop us, right Matt?" Matt nods in agreement. Did I ever mention that men are pigs?

[...]

Liam shows up at my apartment with a limo. _A limo. _Then again, what did I expect him to show up in? A soccer mom mini van? Jenna tried taking pictures of us standing in that typical prom pose. I had to remind her that this definitely wasn't senior prom, which I didn't attend anyway.

"You look gorgeous, you know that?" Liam whispers in my ear once we're in the privacy of the limo. I feel a cold, wet sensation on my ear and freeze a little. _Did he just nibble on my ear?_ We haven't done anything more than kiss, hug, and hold hands really since we started dating.

From the experience I had with Damon, I know that a nibble on the ear is suggestive. He wants to take things farther than they already are. We're plenty old enough and it's obvious that neither of us are virgins. I don't know why, but the thought of having sex with anyone other than Damon terrifies me. I like Liam a lot, but him going into No Man's Land is just daunting.

Then I have a take a deep breath and remind myself: _Elena, you are no longer in a relationship with Damon. You haven't seen him in over two years. He probably moved on, you have to too. Liam is a great guy and you know that he's going to be gentle with you. He respects you. You are over Damon Salvatore. You are over Damon Salvatore. _

So, I look at Liam and give him the biggest smile I possibly could. "Thank you. You're so sweet." I say and kiss his cheek lightly. I don't know what else to do. Should I nibble on his ear too? Nah, that be awkward. I could just let him pull all the first moves and go along. Yeah, that sounds good. "Are your parents and Katherine already at the ball?"

He nods. "Yeah. Katherine had a royal meltdown apparently when she couldn't find her mascara." He chuckles, shaking his head. "That's my sister for you."

"Hey, I like Katherine." I say, in Katherine's defense. "All girls had at least one meltdown in their lives when they couldn't find their favorite mascara." I grin.

The limo comes to a stop. I look at the windows at the tall, gorgeous skyscraper in front of me. Liam smiles, kissing me gently on the lips. "We're here."

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

_Call all your friends_

_Tell them I'm never coming back_

_'Cause this is the end_

_Pretend that you want it, don't_ _react_

Long silky chocolate brown hair that smells like strawberries. Creamy, vanilla skin. A laugh that makes your insides tingle. Lips that are shiny and juicy and taste of cherries. A cute little button nose that matches with the cute little voice. But that cute little voice can turn into a seductive sexy voice on demand. Skinny hips, beautiful breasts, long legs. Doe-like brown eyes that make you feel like your knees are going to give out. Cheeks that blush up at even the smallest compliment. Tiny hands that entwine between your fingers. A head that fits in the crook of your neck perfectly.

_Elena._

I sit up bolt right, sweat trickling down my forehead. I wipe it away with the back of my hand. I look over at the sleeping beauty next to me. Katherine, with her curls spread out in a circle surrounding her head, sleeping peacefully. I almost feel guilty having a dream about Elena on the day that I'm proposing to Katherine. It wasn't just any dream either.

I head to the bathroom and take a cold shower. Forcing the wonderful Elena thoughts out of my head, I start thinking about Katherine. Her face when I take out the ring, when I get down on one knee, when I ask her. I'm not nervous about it because I know for a fact that she isn't going to say no. Of course I already asked her father for permission. He gave it to me and so did her Mom, tears ensued.

As much as I try to think about Katherine, I just can't get the Elena dream out of my head. I love Katherine very much, couldn't imagine a life without her, but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't wonder about how Elena is doing. How Aubree is doing.

I get this strange aching whenever I think of Aubree. Aubree, eyes like her father and hair like her mother. A perfect combination of genes. I remember seeing her for the first time. Elena, with bags under her eyes and messy hair, still gorgeous despite the fact that she just gave birth, holding Aubree, her skin tinged pink and wrapped in a matching blanket. Then I remember holding her for the first time, how she just knew that I was her Daddy, and she curled up against me, her hands curled up in tight fists. So little, so beautiful. And I promised Elena that I wouldn't let a single boy hurt her. _Like I hurt her._

I flinch, realizing that I'm never going to get a chance to live up to that promise.

[...]

Katherine's parents really outdid themselves this time. The ballroom is huge, with large paned windows that show a spectacular view of the city. Plenty of round tables decorated with the finest red and green cloths money could buy. Katherine's arm wraps around mine as we walk around the ballroom, greeting members of her family, business partners of her parents, friends of the family. The ring in my pocket feels heavier than ever.

She guides me over to where her parents are. Her Mom smiles eagerly at me and I return a smile, hoping it doesn't look too insecure. Me? Damon Salvatore insecure? That's definitely a first. No, maybe I'm not insecure. I'm just nervous. Yeah, yeah, nervous. Mrs. Pierce wraps me into a tight hug. I hug her back as loving as I possibly can. When she pulls away, I see the glisten of tears in her eyes. She's happy for both of us and I know she isn't concern for Katherine, not anymore. To the Pierces, I'm a great guy for their daughter, I'll be a perfect husband and a perfect father. They just don't know that I am actually a father. And a rotten one, at that. They don't know that I really am a terrible man and I did such a terrible thing to two unbelievable incredible girls who should be the whole focus of my life right now.

I keep telling myself that I'm only thinking of them because of that meaningless dream.

"Oh, Liam's here!" Mrs. Pierce says, looking over my shoulder in the direction of the grand entrance door.

* * *

**Then****: Elena's POV**

_Remember the day_

_'Cause this is what dreams should always be_

_I just want to stay_

_I just want to keep this dream in me_

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. As a child, I used to bake cookies with my Mom everyday leading up to Christmas, right after school let out for the year. We made everything from gingerbread to ricotta cheese to candy cane crisps to, my personal favorite, sugar cookies topped with layers of icing and sprinkles. While we were baking, my Dad and Jeremy would often try sneaking into the kitchen and stealing a cookie or two form us. But my Mom and I always managed to shoo them away.

"Damon, stop eating all the cookies!" I scold him, pulling half-eaten ricotta cheese cookies from his flour-covered hands and stuffing it in my own mouth. What can I say? I'm starving and Damon already ate a thousand cookies while I've been feverishly working to restock our cookie jar.

He laughs. "Oh, so I can't eat them but it's perfectly fine for you to?" He reaches out and wipes a crumb or two leftover from the cookie from the corner of my lips.

I nod. "Yes because I'm the one who's actually baking them." I retort swiftly.

"I helped!" He scoffs, wrapping his arms around my not-so-slim waist. Pregnancy weight gain hasn't been so kind to me over the past few months and I'm only going to get bigger, that's what Jenna says. But I don't care. I'd rather a healthy baby and a weight gain of a thousand pounds than a sick baby and no weight gain at all.

"Helped?" I blink. "Oh, that's right! You cleaned up the chocolate chips. You know, the ones that I spilled. In the bowl. With the dough in it."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "I'm hungry, okay?" He kisses my cheek. "And guess what else I am?"

"Uh...a psychopath that steals cookies?" I offer, arching an eyebrow at him.

"What? No." He rolls his eyes. "I'm in love with this beautiful girl who bakes the most amazing Christmas cookies." He whispers in my ear.

I erupt with laughter. "Damon Salvatore, that was possibly one of the cheesiest things you ever said."

His cheeks flare with redness as I continue to laugh at him. Eventually, he joins in too. "Yeah, yeah, shut it, Miss Gilbert."

Then before I know it, he lifts me up on the counter. I wrap my legs around his waist, my hands on his shoulders. His strong arms wrap around my waist. My swollen stomach is the only thing separating us but we learned to work around that over the few months. Damon's lips taste like mint, probably from the candy cane crisps cookies. My fingers tangle themselves in his silky hair, the color of night.

I love it, the feeling of being so close to someone. I feel so safe, so comfortable, like nothing in the world can harm whenever I'm in the presence of Damon. Being in his arms, I get a sense of paradise. Of protection. Like everything else in this world can go wrong but I'll be okay because I have Damon right next to me.

After a few minutes, he pulls away. Both of us are breathing heavy by now. But I still have an urge inside of me to want more. I look up at him and he's smiling down at me. "I have something for you." He says and he pulls out a small black box out of his pocket. For a second I think he's going to propose to me. But that's silly, I'm still just in high school. There's no possible way he's planning on marrying me while I'm still in school. "Merry Christmas."

He hands me the box. I open it slowly. In there, attached to a delicate silver chain, is a heart shaped silver necklace. On the left side of the heart, is a strip of eight small but gorgeous diamonds that shine in light of the kitchen. My eyes start to water. I can't help but, my doctor says that hormones are going to be raging inside of me for the next few months.

I look up at him and smile, a tear or two rolling down my cheek. "Thank you, Damon. It's beautiful." I hug him tightly. He hugs me back, cocooning myself in his arms. He smells of bourbon, probably left over from his father. Damon doesn't drink unless it's at parties, which he didn't attend one since we found out I was pregnant.

By the way he talks, I can picturing him grinning. "Anything for you."

* * *

**Now**_**: **_**Damon's POV**

_The damage is done_

_The police are coming too slow now_

_I would have died_

_I would have loved you all my life**  
**_

Liam and whoever he brought is swarmed with people at the door. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce go over to them, apparently eager to see the them together. So, Katherine and I go over to another table where her Uncle Zeke is. I hate Uncle Zeke and he hates me. But I try to be as polite as I can. After all, I am proposing to his favorite little model niece in just a few minutes. Katherine has her arm wrapped firmly around me, never wanting me to go. I want to assure her that I'm not going anywhere.

Finally, as the crowd around Liam settled down and people were now roaming freely around the room or are seated at their tables, a glass of champagne in their dainty little hands, I decide it's time. I am not nervous, my hands don't shake, my heart doesn't beat more than normal, my palms aren't sweaty. _This is exciting_, I remind myself, _I am proposing to the girl of my dreams today._

People around making small talk. Chatting about the weather, the latest scandal in New York, about their pointless jobs. The only thing I'm scared about is that maybe right now, right this moment, maybe it isn't the right time. Then again, my father always used to say, "There's no time like the present." Isn't that the truth? I look over at Katherine, my girl, and she looks gorgeous. Katherine is wearing a deep plum color gown, one that clings to every curve of her body. On her lips is a satin purple, the same color of the dress. Her hair is down in it's flawless corkscrew curls, falling to the small of her back. The darkness and deepness of the colors create a perfect contrast with her skin, pale from the harsh New York City winter.

Picking up an empty champagne glass from a nearby table along with an expensive silver fork, I gently tap the fork against the glass, creating a sound that makes everyone in the room silent. Katherine, along with everybody in the room look over at me. She tries to pretend she's confused, curious, but she's not stupid. I know that she knows that I'm proposing to her.

"Hello, everybody!" I say and then I realize I don't even know how to propose to someone. Do I have to get done on one knee? Eh, I'll just go with it. "As you all know, Katherine and I have been dating for quite some time now. I love her." My tone is confident. "And...I have something I want to ask her in front of all of you, her family." I look over at Katherine, who's smiling and looks like she's on the verge of tears. Slowly, I get down on one knee and pull the little black velvet box out of my pocket and open it, showing her the ring I bought with Stefan for her. "Katherine Lynn Pierce, I love you, obviously otherwise I wouldn't be doing this. You're beautiful, smart, you accept me for who I am. Spending the rest of my life with you would be an extraordinary honor. So, will you marry me?"

I barely hear Katherine say, "Yes!" because the whole room breaks out in applause, cheering for the newly engaged couple. I'm grinning at the realization that I'm going to grow old with her, the love of my life. Everything seems so perfect right now. I stand up and slip the ring on Katherine's slender finger. She looks at me, smiling. "I love you so much, Damon." She tells me. "I cannot wait to spent the rest of our lives together." She kisses me. Our kiss is interrupted though because plenty of Pierces come over to congratulate the newly engaged couple. Some, like her grandmother, are crying. Some admire the ring for what feels like years. Some threaten me that I better be an amazing husband and treat her well. Katherine's response to that is a giggle and, "Of course he will."

* * *

**Now****: Elena's POV**

_Where have you gone?_

_The beach is so cold in winter here._

_And where have I gone?_

_I wake in Montauk with you near._

Apparently, I miss the proposal of Katherine because I was in the bathroom, calling to make sure Aubree is okay. She's fine, Jenna assured, saying that she was all bundled up, eagerly waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus. I put my cheap phone back in my clutch, one that I borrowed from Caroline, and go back into the party. Everyone has huge smiles on their faces when I get back. Directly, I go over to the table where Liam and I were before along with his parents. Liam was on his phone and his parents were absent. I sit down next to him and whisper, "Did he propose?"

He nods. "That's what all the commotion is about." He puts down is phone and looks at me. "Everything okay with Aubree?"

I smile and nod. "Yeah. She's sitting on the couch, expecting for Santa to walk in the door any minute." I chuckle, thinking of my little girl and how naïve she could be.

Liam smiles too and wraps an arm around me, kissing the top of my head. "She's adorable."

Then, his Mom comes over to us. She has the biggest smile on her face, like nothing could make her any happier. I can't help but wonder how she's going to be if Liam ever proposes to me. Hey, she'll get an instant granddaughter and isn't that what all woman want when their children get married? "Oh, Elena, it's so unfortunate you missed the proposal. He was so sweet." She says.

"I know. If I knew he was proposing now, I would've waited to call and see how Aubree's doing." I say, glancing over and between heads and shoulders, I sees Katherine's face, glowing from excitement. "I'm so happy for Katherine. She looks so excited." I comment.

"Oh, she is." Mrs. Pierce nods. "Anyway, Cheryl and I have already been planning the engagement party. It's on January 2nd."

Liam looks at his Mom questionably. "So soon, Mom?"

She nods. "Of course! You know Katherine, she likes to get things done as quickly as possible. I'm sure the wedding will only be in a few short months." Then she turns back and looks at me. "Do you think you'll be able to attend the party?"

I smile. "Sure, Mrs. Pierce." I say after quickly racking my brain to see if I have any plans that day. It's a Saturday and I'm not working.

"You're already like family, Elena." She says sincerely. "Oh, and if you wouldn't mind, bring Aubree. Do you think she would be okay at the party?"

I nod. "Yeah. She can be a little shy at first, but once she gets to know you, she won't stop talking." I smile softly, wishing that Aubree could've been here tonight. Although this occasion is much too formal for her.

"Yeah, Mom," Liam joins in. "You'll like her a lot. She's adorable, like a mini Elena." He looks over at me and smiles.

[...]

Mrs. Pierce has been seated at the table with us for a while, chatting endlessly about things that I barely have any knowledge about, like Louis Vuitton and what she should get Katherine for her wedding and that she'll have to help her set up a wedding registry. Mr. Pierce comes over and sits down next to his wife, kissing her temple. "Dinner is about to be served." He tells all three of us. "Salmon, Elena. I hope you'll like it. It's sort of tradition in the Pierce family when it comes to balls like this."

I plan on saying something about how much I like salmon, when I really don't care much for it, but that's when Katherine and her fiancé come towards us. Katherine's beauty is enough to make someone's heart stop, especially with her lovely purple gown, showing off all of her perfect clothes. But it isn't Katherine's looks that makes my heart stop. It's her fiancé. He always looks so handsome in a suit. His raven black hairstyle hasn't changed. Even from where I'm sitting, I can smell the scent of his cologne. The same scent that it's always been, the same scent that his bed smelt like the first time we ever slept together. It's so strong that I can almost taste it. His skin looks so pale and so smooth like it always did.

_Damon._

He sees me too because his eyes go wide. I don't know whether to scream or cry or vomit, maybe I could do all three at the same time. I just can't believe that Damon is sitting right across the table from me. Two years of wanting him to come back, those endless nights I spent sobbing over him in my bed, and he's about two feet away from me. He doesn't say anything to me or about me so I don't either. And the Pierces are too caught up in the excitement over Katherine's engagement to notice our reactions.

_Engagement!_

My eyes grow large and my heart is pounding so fast that I think it's going to burst out of my chest. Damon is getting married. Oh God, no. Damon and I could possibly be in-laws. It's so hard to keep in my bitter laugh. It's bad enough getting your heart torn out by someone you're in love with, but then having to attend their wedding and then possibly having to spend the rest of your life with them as in-laws.

I can't take it anymore. A million thoughts are racing through my mind, making me feel like that's going to burst too. I think of our poor little girl at home, who's oblivious to the fact that her father is just across a small round table from me, too eager with the excitement of Santa Claus giving her presents because she' been such a good little girl. I want to just stand up and scream at him, yell at him for everything he did to cause me and her such pain in these past two years. I feel like I just got the wind knocked out of me, like Damon just punched me in the stomach. I can't breathe. _Oh God, I can't breathe. I'm going to die. I can't breathe!_

I'm clutching onto the edge of the tablecloth so tightly that my knuckles turn white. Finally, the Pierces must've noticed something because they're all looking at me, all looking concerned. Damon is looking at me too, his expression is unreadable. "Lena, are you all right?" Liam whispers to me, his face so close to mine and he's brushing a lock of hair out of my face.

My bottom lip is trembling and my throat hurts the way it always does before I'm about to cry. My eyes are pooling with tears too. Slowly, I let go of the strong grip I had on the table cloth and realize that my hands are shaking violently. I nod, trying my best to somehow form a small smile on my face like I did all the times someone asked me how I was doing without Damon, only this time it's not working because I do have Damon. He's right next to me. Only in a different way then he was before. He no longer loves me, he just proposed to Katherine. "I-I just need some air." My voice cracks on the final word.

Without further explanation, I get up quickly and rush out of the ballroom. I run until I'm out of the building and into New York City's somewhat fresh air. I don't have a jacket on so I start shaking for a different reason that I was before. Liam bursts out of the doorway a few seconds later, I knew he was going to follow me. He looks at me sadly and envelopes me into a tight hug, rubbing circles on my back as we hug. I can't help but break down in tears, sobbing wildly.

Wordlessly, he escorts me back into the limo we arrived in. He holds me tightly the whole way back to my apartment. I wonder if he knows that Damon is the one that I was madly in love with during high school, that Damon's the one who fathered Aubree, that Damon's the reason why I can never fully trust another man again because I constantly fear that one day they're just going to up and go again like he did. I'm glad, though, that Liam doesn't ask me any questions. I don't even know how I'll be able to answer them.

We get back to my apartment and he helps me out of the limo and up to the door. I'm crying silently now, the initial shock starting to decrease and it's replaced by misery. Liam kisses the crown of my head, "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" He says and I just nod. He goes back down to the limo without saying another word and I go into the apartment. Jenna and Jeremy are passed out on the couch, they were probably up and waiting for me to get home. Aubree's gifts are already underneath the Christmas tree. I had them all wrapped and ready to go in storage in the basement. Matt probably got them all ready for me.

I go into my room and step out of my dress, leaving it in a crumpled ball in the middle of my floor. I don't care. I hate that dress anyway. I look at myself in the mirror, some of my curls are already starting to come undone. Mascara is running down my cheeks, staining my crystal clear tears. My eyes are red and my face is puffy from crying. I look like a nightmare. No wonder why Damon left me.

_Damon._ My breath hitches in my throat and I have to gulp it down. This wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't part of the plan. Did Damon know that I'm dating Liam? Would he really be that much of an asshole to propose to Katherine knowing that I was also attending the ball? I don't know and I really don't want to find out the answer. Even if he did know, he isn't supposed to talk with me or have any contact with me, that's what the contract said. The contract I only signed to get the damn child support. That's right, Mr. Salvatore made me sign that contract. Damon was leaving no matter if I signed it or not. But the only reason I agreed to never having any contact with Damon again was to get the child support. Messed up. It's so damn messed up.

I don't care about how ruined my makeup is or how I look or even if my heart is going to burst out of my chest. Quickly, I don my pajamas and go into Aubree's room. She's asleep, bundled up in blankets, clutching her teddy bear tightly. I lay down next to her, wrapping my arms around her and covering us both with a big blanket. I got the better part of the deal, no doubt. I got Aubree.

I don't know how I'm going to explain to Jenna, Jeremy, Matt, Caroline, or Tyler that I saw Damon. Maybe I won't even tell them at all. I'm not mad or jealous of Katherine, okay maybe a little jealous, but it's not like she knew that I dated Damon and gave birth to his daughter. She never mentioned anything about her boyfriend's daughter and I'm sure that she would've said something to Liam or I about Damon. I'm mad at Damon even though I shouldn't be. It's not like he wanted to leave us, he had to. I'll never forget the look in his eyes when he said he had to leave. But he could've always fought back against his father. He shouldn't have left me and Aubree to pick up the pieces of our already fragile lives.

Taking a shaky breath, I know that this is only the start. There's going to be so much more pain to come. Like seeing Katherine walk down the aisle towards Damon, when I should've been the one walking down the aisle towards him. Maybe even seeing Damon and Katherine have the first child of their own. It's not like I can just leave them, not when I'm with Liam. I really love Liam and I can't just breakup with him because of who is sister is dating. Just because my life can't classify as fair doesn't mean I should be unfair to anyone else.

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

_You're losing your memory now_

_You're losing your memory now_

_You're losing your memory now_

_You're losing your memory_

The glass shatters against the fireplace, tiny pieces like sharp daggers scatter across the hardwood floor. Katherine is asleep, tucked away in our bed without a clue about what I'm going through. What Elena must be going through. Goddammit, I should've said something to her! Apologized for all the shit that I put her through! But no, I just sat there looking at her like a bastard. That's because I am a bastard. A selfish bastard who doesn't deserve Elena or Aubree. I don't even deserve Katherine. I don't even deserve shit for what I put Elena and that little girl through.

I sit down on the expensive leather couch, head in hands. She look so beautiful, though. More beautiful than I remembered. Of course she'd find someone like Liam. No matter how much Liam and I tease each other, he's a great guy and he deserves a great girl. But Elena is more than great, she's perfect, amazing, all those words fit into the category of how Elena is.

I flinch. I don't love Elena anymore, I can't love Elena anymore. My future wife is sleeping in our bed, the ring on her finger. The ring seals it. The rest of my life is destined to be with Katherine. My father is happy about it, her parents are happy about it. I'm happy about it. But no matter how much I try, I just can't get the imagine of Elena, with her doe-like brown eyes glistening with tears as she looks at me, the man who destroyed her belief in all men, the man who left her at her front porch and walked away, just like that. What was she even doing in New York anyway? I would've never expected small town Elena to move to the Big Apple.

Getting up, I pace back and forth in front of the fireplace. I know Elena and Elena isn't just going to break up with Liam because I'm with his sister. No way. I saw how close they were tonight, right before Elena ran away. She wouldn't let someone get that close to her, physically or mentally, if she didn't trust them. Trust. She trusted me. I was the one who pulled broken Elena back after her parents died, that was me. Who pulled the broken Elena back together after I left her?

_Aubree_. Of course it was Aubree. Elena would do anything for that little girl of ours. Suddenly, I perk up and a smile forms on my face without my permission. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get to see my little girl again. Not a day goes by when I don't think about her. I don't like to talk about Aubree or Elena, but that doesn't mean I don't love them. For the first time in a long time, I sit down on the arm of the sofa and bawl my eyes out. The last time I cried was when I had to leave Elena. I didn't let her see my tears, of course. I sat in the car and cried and drove away from her and from our little Aubree.

I wonder what she looks like. I hope she got all her traits from her mother because there shouldn't be another person on this earth who acted like me. If she looks anything like Elena, she must be gorgeous. I can picture a mini-Elena, running around with little doe brown eyes, her hair a tangled mess like Elena's used to be if she didn't comb it often.

I take another sip of the bourbon, picturing Elena playing with Aubree running around the backyard together as I laugh at them, taking pictures. The way it should've been. I fall asleep to the imaginary sound of Aubree's giggle.

* * *

**How did you guys like it? It's 6,407 words, the most I ever wrote for a single chapter. I didn't want you guys to hate Damon for proposing to Katherine. He had no clue Elena would be there. He's not that much of an asshole, guys!**

**I'm not going to check my reviews until I'm in DC and standing in front of the White House or somewhere important because when I was at the beach and sitting watching the water, I checked my reviews and I don't know why, but it was awesome. So, yeah, DC, anyone been there? Anyone know good places to see, eat at? I really want to go see Ford's Theater, The Declaration of Independence, Arlington National Cemetery, and the Smithsonian Museum because...history freak right here.**

**Anyway...ready to hear the exciting news?**

**DRUMROLL, PLEASE!**

**I made a blog on Tumblr! **

**And I mean, I already have a blog on Tumblr but it's quality and this one is a writing blog. I already wrote a blog entry about my other story, "Right and Wrong" and why I hated it and how I should've ended it. To get to that post, just click on the box to the right called, "Blogs about my other Fan Fictions".**

**The link to my blog is on my profile.**

**Okay, so now for more exciting news regarding my upcoming story "Alia and Hunter". One of my favorite writers on here, bukibuki, she had this blog where she would post pictures with her characters and designs of their houses, etc. So that's what inspired all of this because I could read a chapter of her story, "Not Like the Movies" then look at pictures of that.**

**I'm probably going to start my story in Septemberish. I do not know how long it's going to take but it's going to be a long story, possibly breaking it up into sequels or one long story. It basically fits with most of the themes in this story and "Right and Wrong" which I think you can probably guess what happens. I've been thinking of this story and these characters all summer and my friend, Madi, helped me with most of the plot.**

**So, thank you thank you for waiting this long for the chapter. I tried writing at the beach but I was on vacation and our days consisted of being at the beach all day, came back to our hotel to get showered and dressed, then went out to dinner with my whole family (a bunch of us went) and stayed out pretty late.**

**We went to Ocean City, Maryland which is right next to Fenwick Island and since it's the beach I thought of Finnick and ugh...Hunger Games... We went to Hooter's for the first time and guys...oh my God. So it was me, my 10 year old sister, my Dad, my Mom, and my older cousin, Cory. We get there and there's a bunch of motorcycles in the parking lot. IT WAS BIKE NIGHT. It's my family surrounded by a bunch of these older guys with leather jackets. They had a live band playing and no one could hear what anyone was saying. But we weren't the most out of place ones there. There were Amish people there, complete with bonnets and long beards. Now, I'm from Pennsylvania. I'm used to the Amish. But it was just so strange seeing them at a place like Hooter's. ****And I went on a slingshot ride that shoots you up in the air 200 feet and I was so proud of myself that I got a "Dauntless" symbol henna tattoo on my arm, from Divergent. **

**PLEASE REVIEW AND THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP SHORTLY. THANK YOU!**


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11 - "The Aftermath"_

**Now****: Elena's POV**

"So, Elena, how'd the ball go?"

It seems like everyone in the apartment has been asking me that question all morning, including Aubree. I try my best to force a smile, pretend like it was the greatest night of my life and move on. Easier said than done. Jenna instantly knows something's up and questions me on it while Aubree is opening her gifts.

"No, Jenna." I say in an irritated tone, tired of answering the same questions over and over and it's not even nine o'clock in the morning. "I'm fine, honest. I'm just tired and I just want to see Aubree open her gifts." I say as Aubree opens one of the gifts that Jeremy bought her. She produces a doll from a Christmas themed bag that is light blue with giant pearl white snowflakes on them. She squeals with delight and runs over to Jeremy to hug him.

"Are you sure?" Jenna arches an eyebrow at me. "You don't seem yourself this morning." She pauses, collecting her thoughts. "Did something happen with Liam? Did he break up with you or something?"

"No. Liam and I are fine." I snap, wishing the endless amount of questions will somehow end.

Aubree runs over to me and stands between by knees. Despite all the irritating questions and the daunting idea that I'm going to have to start speaking to Damon again, even if it's just once, all go away when I see the wide grin on Aubree's face. I got her a few gifts, under the alias of Santa, of course, but they weren't the best gifts. I'm a Mom on a budget. I got her the basics, dolls, a doll house, doll clothes, even a doll car that I found for sale at Toys"R"Us. But, the best gift I got for her, by far, is what I bought from saving up my tips at Half Life.

"Did you like your gifts from Santa?" I ask her, brushing back a corkscrew curl behind her ear.

She nods quickly, the grin on her face widening. "Yes, Mommy!"

I almost want to cry. Aubree, who doesn't have a lot of toys, is the happiest I ever saw her on Christmas morning, even with cheap Barbie dolls and baby dolls. We never starved, Jenna would never allow that. But we went without. First months in New York, I bought all generic brands in the grocery store. I still do. The cheaper the better. And then there's Damon, he's probably going to be indulging in a giant ham dinner with creamy mashed potatoes and rich wine imported from Italy, just like the kind I had when I ate dinner with Liam's family.

Liam and I talked about what we were doing to do for Christmas. We both agreed that we wanted to spend it separating, dining with our families. After all, we did spend Christmas Eve together. He didn't call me this morning. I'm sure he's just being considerate, figuring that I want to give all my attention to Aubree on Christmas morning. And I do. But how am I going to explain last night to him? I don't know if I'm ready to tell him about Damon just yet. If I do, that's going to be very difficult for all of us. Telling Liam would mean that he would hate Damon. Hate him for ditching me, baby in hand. That would create a war in the Pierce family, brother versus sister. Or, Liam could just break up with me completely. Isn't family more important?

The thought of loosing Liam, a man that I decided to put my trust in, over Damon makes me want to cry.

But I can't because my little girl is standing in front of me with the happiest smile on her face.

"So, now that you got all your gifts from Santa, I have a gift for you." I say, picking her up and setting her down on my lap. I reach over and gives her a little red bag, with white tissue paper sticking out of it. She doesn't care about what the bag looks like or how much effort I put into making sure the tissue paper stuck up in all the right directions, she just yanked it out and tossed it to the floor. She pulls out a silver box and takes that open to. Inside is a small Pandora bracelet. On it is a single light pink charm. She looks up at me, confused. "It's a very expensive bracelet. I worked very hard to get this for you." I explain, hoping it would spark more appreciation. It does. "Every year for Christmas, I'm going to get you a new charm for the bracelet. So, when you're a big girl, you'll have a very pretty bracelet to wear."

She wraps her tiny and skinny arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. I return the hug, rubbing her back as I do. "Thank you, Mommy." She says and I know she loves it.

[...]

Our Christmas dinner consisted of Wonton Soup, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Vegetable Chop Suey, Pork Lo Mein, General Tso's Chicken, and ten Egg Rolls. Who needs a five hundred dollar bottle of wine when you can have Chinese food? Dinner's delicious, but I can't help but wonder what Damon is having for Christmas dinner. Liam had said that the Pierce's are having dinner with Katherine's boyfriend, now fiancée, and his family. So, Stefan and Cranky Giuseppe are having dinner with them too? I wonder if Liam is joking around carelessly with Damon, not knowing that that's the man who gave me Aubree and left me with her.

What if Damon told Liam that we dated and he is the father of Aubree? Would Liam be pissed at me that I didn't tell him first? Would Damon be stupid enough to say something like that? What about Katherine? Would Damon mention to Katherine that we dated and had Aubree?

Scratch what I said about the wine earlier, I think I need. All of this is making my head hurt.

I look up from sitting at the head of our makeshift dining room table. Jenna, Jeremy, and Matt are all chatting happily. Matt asks what's new in Mystic Falls and Jenna says nothing. There's a shock. I figure that now's a good time to reveal what happened last night. I look down at Aubree. "Aubs, can you go play with your toys? It's time for some grown-up talk." I whisper to her. No way do I want her listening into this conversation.

She has grown accustomed to grown-up talk over the years. Most of the time, like now, it's about Damon or financial problems that I don't want her hearing about. Occasionally, it's when Caroline and I talk about her sex life, even if I don't want to. So, she nods and runs off to her room, an Egg Roll in hand. I swear, she ate all of them.

Matt, Jenna, and Jeremy turn their attention towards me. They know something's up if I sent Aubree out of the room. Matt's the first to speak up. "Something wrong, Lena?" He sounds casual, taking a small bite of his General Tso's Chicken.

"Is it something to do with the ball?" Jeremy offers, grimacing at Matt. He always hated General Tso's Chicken.

"I saw Damon." I blurt out, the weight suddenly lifting from my shoulders. Three sets of eyes stare at me in disbelief.

"Wait...like, Damon Salvatore? Baby Daddy Damon?" Jenna says, her eyebrows raised in concern as she looked at me, her pathetic excuse of a niece.

I nod. "Yes, that Damon." How could I sound so casual? Like I was just chatting about an old high school friend who I ran into at the grocery store?

"Are you sure?" Matt blinks at me, his blue eyes as innocent as ever.

"Yes, I'm sure." I spat. Matt looks hurt and I instantly regret it. I didn't mean to take my frustration out on him, I didn't mean to take my frustration out on any of them.

"Did you guys...talk?" Jeremy asks, pushing away his plate that still had food on it. I guess our conversation was just too juicy to be eating Wonton Soup.

"No. We were both in shock." I say, leaning over the table and snatching his bowl of Wonton Soup from him and he doesn't object. Hey, he might not be able to eat during this conversation but I can. I kind of accepted that my life is just a pitfall of misery after misery.

Jenna, finally able to say something, says, "What was he even doing there? I thought it was the Pierce Family Ball? And he's certainty not a Pierce, he's a Salvatore."

"Oh, no, he's definitely a Salvatore. He's dating Liam's older sister, Katherine. Actually, they're engaged. He proposed last night." I say. I almost want to laugh bitterly at how my life turned out. When I got pregnant, I promised myself that I wouldn't be that girl who felt sorry for herself. Now, I can't help it.

Matt stares at me. "Wait...so you're saying that you and Damon would possibly be in-laws?"

I nod. Jenna lets out a deep breath, one that I suspect she's been holding in for a while. "I know. Doesn't my life just suck?" I say, finishing my Pepsi that came along with the Chinese food.

Jeremy frowns. He looks like he wants to kill somebody. "Does Liam know about you two? Or does Katherine?"

"Not that I know of. Liam obviously knows something's up because I ran out of the ball, like Cinderella. But he hasn't pressed me on the issue. Obviously, I'll tell him. I have to. I just don't know when's the right time."

"So, what are you going to do?" Matt asks.

"Yeah, you can't just let him prance back into your life, can you? And how is this going to effect Aubree? Goddamn, I think I need a drink." Jenna groans. _Join the club_, I think.

"Now? I'm going to enjoy Christmas with my daughter and pretend like my life isn't as screwed up as it is." I say.

Jeremy speaks up, "Seriously, Lena, what are you going to do? Do you think he'll even want to see Aubree?"

I bit my lip, thinking about his question. "Maybe. I don't know. I'll have to talk to him first about the issue and if he does, then he'll have to swear to me that he's going to stay in her life because, as of now, she thinks that he's on a trip for work." I answer. I'm so grateful that no one brought up the possibly of Damon and I getting back together.

Everyone in the room grows silent. I can hear Aubree's loud clamor of her playing with her toys in her bedroom. I wish that Damon and I were in there with her now, playing with her on Christmas day with her new toys like every other parent is doing right now.

I'm the first one to break the silence. "Mrs. Pierce is throwing an engagement party for Damon and Katherine soon. I'm invited and they told me that I should bring Aubree. Obviously, Damon is going to be there. So...what do I do?" I ask.

Jenna looks at me. "Go. Bring Aubree. It's a perfect opportunity to talk to Damon. Just...don't introduce Aubree to Damon as her father just yet. Try to not let them interact at all." She offers.

I nod.

[...]

It isn't until after the living room is cleaned up of wrapping paper and the kitchen is cleaned up of takeout containers that Liam finally calls. Aubree is perfectly content playing in her bedroom and Matt, Jenna, and Jeremy are enjoying the classic Christmas movie, _A Christmas Story_. I'm in my room, straightening it up as my phone rings it's familiar tune.

"Hey," I answer, happy that he finally called. I've been missing him.

"Hi." He says back. "How was your Christmas? Was Aubree happy about her presents?" He doesn't sound angry or hurt, so I'm positive that Damon didn't mention anything about us. I wonder if Katherine knows anything. Would she tell her brother if she did?

"More like ecstatic. She's been playing with them nonstop. I think I'm literally going to have to drag her out of the apartment with all these toys." I chuckle. "And she loved the bracelet. Thank you for your excellent idea. How was your Christmas dinner?"

"You're welcome." He laughs, deep and warm. My heart aches for him. I want to spill all of my problems with Damon out to him, I want him to understand, and I want it not to cause any tension between his family. I want to be in his arms, I want him to kiss me on my head and tell me how much he loves me. "And my dinner was boring. My Mom and Katherine just gushed about wedding details and stuff about this engagement party- you and Aubree are coming to that, right?- and I wanted to shoot myself. Seriously, me, my Dad, Damon, and Damon's family just sat there, looking bored out of our minds."

I flinch when he says Damon's name. It rolls so easily off his tongue. It took my months to even manage to say his name after he left. "Well, I very much enjoyed our little Chinese Christmas dinner. And yeah, me and Aubree will be attending the party. What's the dress code?"

"You know my family. Dresses, obviously. Nothing too fancy, though. Hey, you should just wear that dress you wore to dinner with my parents. You looked beautiful in it. They won't mind." He says and I think that that's a good idea. I mean, I did look gorgeous in that dress and I want Damon to realize what he's missing. Aubree has a few dresses that she could wear, so that shouldn't be a problem either.

"Okay, that's fine." I say, yawning. It's only seven o'clock at night but I'm exhausted. I really should set aside nap time for myself. If I'm tired, I wonder how exhausted Aubree must be. She skipped her nap today. I figure that today's circumstances require her to skip.

"Uh, Lena, you seem fine today. What was with you last night? You looked like you saw a ghost." He says and I have to hold in a sigh. Of course he'd bring this up, I was expecting it. But I'm not ready for the whole your-sister-is-dating-my-ex-and-Aubree's-father talk right now and especially not over the phone. It could wait a few days, maybe even until after the party. Would he even let me attend if I tell him?

"Just...anxiety." I lie. "You know, I was surrounded by all of your family and I was missing Aubree and I'm so sorry for ruining your night. But, thank you so much for letting me attend and taking me home. From what I did experience, I really loved it and I really love your family."

Since I can't see his expression, I can't tell if he bought it or not. And his tone doesn't reveal anything. "Well, that's good, then. If that ever happens again, just tell me. Maybe if you take a five minute break and calm down, you'll be fine."

"I know. I just...panicked." I sigh. I feel guilty for lying to him but after the party, I'll tell him. He has to know. "I, uh, I have to go. I'll see you whenever."

"Lena?"

"Yeah?"

He pauses.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

[...]

An hour or so later, Jenna, Jeremy, and I said our goodbyes. Apparently, flights are cheaper on Christmas since most people want to spend it enjoying their families. It was sad to see them go, but they have to. We all have to move on with our lives now that our little holiday is over. I promise Jenna that I'll update her on all things Damon.

Matt leaves to take them to the airport and I didn't really feel like going, so it's just me and Aubree home for a little. She's in her room, still playing. She hasn't stopped since I made her sit down for dinner. I'm channel surfing, curled up on the couch with a thick blanket wrapped around me. Outside, snow is dusting the streets of Manhattan. It's a beautiful sight.

Aubree comes over to me, holding a paper in her hand. "Mommy?" She says, pulling my attention away from the TV and towards her.

"Yeah, princess?" I say, sitting up and adjusting my messy bun.

"I made this for you. Merry Christmas!" She says, in her two year old accent. She holds up a drawing she made. On the sides are two large silver buildings, which I'm assuming are skyscrapers. In the middle there are three figures, one significantly shorter than the other two. The two taller ones are holding hands. On of them I'm guessing is a girl because she has long brown hair and is wearing a dress. The other tall figure is a man with blond hair and blue dots for eyes. The smaller figure has shorter brown hair but is also wearing a dress. "That's you," She says, pointing to the taller figure with the long brown hair. "And that's me," She points to the shorter figure.

"And is this Liam?" I ask, pointing to the other taller figure.

She shakes her head.

"Matt?" I ask.

She shakes her head again.

"Well, then who is it?" I ask, curious as to what she has to say.

"It's Daddy."

That's enough to make my eyes water and pull her into a tight hug. Of course she made Damon with blond hair and blue eyes, she doesn't really remember what he looks like. It's been such a while since I showed her a picture of Damon. And I'm thankful for myself at that. That way she won't be able to spot him out during the engagement party.

"Thank you, sweetheart, it's beautiful." I say, sniffling and hoping she doesn't pick up on it. "I'll put it right up on the fridge so everyone can see it."

Aubree pulls away from our hug and looks at me. "Mommy? Why are you crying?" She asks.

I shake my head. "I'm crying, but these are happy tears." I lie, wishing more than anything in the world that I can transform that picture into reality for her. For me.

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

I hold onto Katherine's hand all through Christmas dinner, which is comprised of juicy ham, creamy mashed potatoes, buttery corn and beans, and, my personal favorite, sweet potatoes. My Father gave me a stern look as I scooped up half the bowl and put them on my plate.

"Thank you for this wonderful meal, Mrs. Pierce." Stefan says and I wish I was the first one to say that. I did just propose to their daughter, after all.

"Oh, you're so welcome, Stefan." She says, adjusting her pearls. I can't help but think that the butler was the one who prepared the meal, not her. But, of course, I don't say anything. I just enjoy the sweet potatoes.

Katherine and Mrs. Pierce start conversing about girlish topics like wedding dresses and designs and how the engagement party is going to go. I don't listen in, and neither do Liam, my Dad, or Stefan. Instead, I watch Liam as he gulps down whole pieces of ham. Someone has to teach that boy table manners. Normally, Liam and I get along just fine. He's like the brother I've always wanted. But now, I just can't stop imagining him touching Elena or kissing Elena or comforting Elena. Is this what jealously feels like?

When I first got here, I honestly expected Liam to be pissed at me after everything I did to Elena. But he wasn't. He was clueless, just like his sister. I guess Elena is like me in that department. When is she ever going to tell Liam that I was the asshole who abandoned her? Of course she's going to tell him, she's not one to keep secrets like that. Whenever she tells Liam, I'll tell Katherine. It's only fair.

"Liam, honey," Mrs. Pierce says, breaking the conversation between her and Katherine and looks at her only son. "Speaking of the engagement party, is Elena attending?" She says, sounding so casual.

He nods. "Yeah, I think so. She said she would last night." He shrugs, taking a big spoonful of mashed potatoes.

"And she's bringing Aubree, right?" Mrs. Pierce asks. I flinch and then hope that it went unnoticed. I look up at my father's and Stefan's expression. When they mentioned Elena, they probably just thought it was a coincidence. But Aubree and Elena, they know something's up. Stefan is looking at me, confused. My Father is glaring at me. As if I could actually help it. This is going to be fun to explain to them later.

Liam nods. "Probably."

Katherine lets out a squeal. "Finally! I'll get to meet little Aubree." She looks over at me and says, "When Elena was over for dinner once, she told us a story about Aubree. Aubree is Elena's two year old daughter. She's two, right, Liam?" She looks over at Liam, he nods, then she turns her attention back to me. "And I guess Aubree loves makeup so she locked herself in the bathroom for, like, twenty minutes and took all of Elena's makeup and did her own!" She laughs. "Sounds like me, doesn't it?"

I smile, thinking, _That's my little girl. Just like her mother._

My Father speaks up for the first time this whole dinner, "Damon, son, a word." He commands. It'd be idiotic to refuse in front of my fiancée and her family, so I have no choice. My father leads his way into the kitchen, I follow right on his heels in no way prepared for the conversation that we're about to have. He looks at me like I just murdered. "Elena? Aubree? Please tell me that this is just an extremely rare coincidence."

"It's not." I sigh. "Elena and Liam are dating. No, I have no clue why she moved here. But, keep in mind, that she didn't even know we moved here. None of this is Elena's fault." I'm quick to defend her. "She was at the ball last night."

He frowns. "Damon, I do not want you having any contact with her or Aubree." He says, his voice low with the fear of the Pierces being able to hear us from the dining area set up in the living room.

"Well, it seems like I'm going to have to, Father. After all, she's attending my engagement party along with Aubree. Don't you think I owe her some explanation as to why my father is a complete asshole?" I snap at him.

He looks like he's going to slap me. And I think he would if the Pierces weren't a few feet away. "You do not speak about me like that, understood?" He glares at me.

"No." I smirk cockily. "I am going to my engagement party next week and I'm going to see my ex-girlfriend and I'm going to see my two year old daughter and try to make up for the past two years. And the best part? You can't stop me because you're off on a business trip to D.C."

_Damon Salvatore: one. Giuseppe Salvatore: zero._

Now, ladies and gentlemen, if you look closely at my father when he's angry, you can see how much he resembles an old snapping turtle. Before he can say anything else, I strut back to the living area and sit down next to Katherine. Stefan raises an eyebrow at me and I give him the old, "I'll explain later" look.

[...]

An hour or so later, I'm sitting next to Liam on the couch, grinning to the thought that he's getting my sloppy seconds. Katherine is sitting next to me, our hands entwined. My Father and Stefan left, apparently my Father was too angry to eat the delicious cranberry pie that Katherine prepared. His loss.

Liam gets out his phone and starts talking. Right away, I know who he's talking to. "Hi. How was your Christmas? Was Aubree happy about her presents?" I wonder what Aubree got. What do two year old girls like? Barbie dolls? Babies? I think about what Elena even did today. What she had for dinner, what she received from Santa.

He pauses as he Elena speaks, then he says, "You're welcome." He says. Welcome for what? "And my dinner was boring. My Mom and Katherine just gushed about wedding details and stuff about this engagement party- you and Aubree are coming to that, right?- and I wanted to shoot myself. Seriously, me, my Dad, Damon, and Damon's family just sat there, looking bored out of our minds." Well, that part is true.

"You know my family. Dresses, obviously. Nothing too fancy, though. Hey, you should just wear that dress you wore to dinner with my parents. You looked beautiful in it. They won't mind." He says a minute later. I'm assuming that this is about the engagement party. I picture her in a short, purple dress, one that shows off her tan legs.

Then he says, "Uh, Lena, you seem fine today. What was with you last night? You looked like you saw a ghost." I listen in closely, trying to hear whatever Elena has to say. But it's impossible to hear her. She _did_ look like she saw a ghost, though. Me. The Ghost of Relationship Past. I want to hold her, promise her that it's going to be okay and apologize a thousand times to her. I look over at Katherine, who's very entertained by some Christmas movie and feel guilty. I'm not supposed to be thinking of Elena like I am with my fiancée sitting right next to me. I just hate how he calls her Lena. That's my nickname for her.

"Well, that's good, then. If that ever happens again, just tell me. Maybe if you take a five minute break and calm down, you'll be fine." He says after a beat. Then he says, "Lena?" There we go again on the whole Lena thing. My nickname, buddy, get your own.

A pause.

"I love you so much."

And that's when I leave the room, unable to hear anymore of it.

* * *

**Okay. So you're either going to hate me for one of three reasons.**

**Reason 1: I told some people that I would have the engagement party in this chapter. But I feel like this chapter was important. Next chapter, though, I promise!**

**Reason 2: It's been a while since I've updated. I'm so, so, sorry! But Washington DC was amazing!**

**Reason 3: It's a filler chapter. Nothing too exciting. But, like I said before, it's important. I was going to make them telling their families just a short little intro thing before the party. But this is a chapter of it's own. **

**IMPORTANT NEWS! So, you know of my story about Alia Mellark and Hunter Hawthorne. I've been thinking of names for the story and the one I'm thinking of going with is, "Living in the Ashes". You know, the whole Girl on Fire theme. The way I'm planning it now is that "Living in the Ashes" is going to be the story of Alia Mellark and Hunter Hawthorne through their high school years and the squeal, "Breathing in the Smoke" will be the story of their college years. **

**Even if you're not a big fan of The Hunger Games, as long as you have an idea of what it's about, please give that story a shot. I'm really scared to write it and show it to everyone because these characters have been _my_ characters for this whole summer and letting them go feels like sending my kid off to preschool. **

**Then again, maybe I won't even write a squeal. Maybe I won't even finish "Living in the Ashes" if no one likes it. Maybe I'll just loose passion in the story since I know it's going to be a long one, eight years of two character's lives. But, as of now, I'm extremely passionate about this story and these characters have been my safe haven this whole summer and they're like my kids, basically. **

**So, thank you thank you thank you for reading and reviewing and waiting. **

**I think in my whole time on , I got like maybe two bad reviews which is only on "Right and Wrong". And one I don't even know if it was a bad review because it was in French. You guys are amazing! One review from Ally asked if I was only a teenager. Haha, yes! I'm 15. I don't turn 16 until March. I've been writing since as long as I could remember. My Grandma was an artist, so I got my creative side from her and my Grandpa loved reading and books so whenever I would visit, I would just stare at his little library. **

**Advice to other people who like to write? Just keep on doing it! Two years ago, I SUCKED at writing. This was literally how my stories would go:**

**"Hi." He said.**

**"Hi." She said.**

**"How are you?" He said.**

**"Good." She said.**

**I improved, didn't I? Haha. So, THANK YOU EVERYONE! I'LL TRY TO UPDATE ASAP. **


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12 - "Rules of Engagement"_

**Now****: Damon's POV**

"Come on, Kat." I groan, waiting impatiently by the door of our apartment, tapping my foot against the cherry hardwood floors that cover most of the apartment. "We're going to be late for our own engagement announcement party. Which, by the way, is as stupid as hell. I'm pretty sure that everyone in America knows that we're engaged. Perez Hilton wrote an article about it or something. What the hell are the guests going to do? Fake gasp and say, 'Oh, I didn't know you were'-"

"Would you _shut up_?!" Katherine says, finally all dressed and ready to go, approaching me. She's wearing a tiny red dress, one that makes her hips look curvier. Her hair is down in it's usual state of curls and I wonder how she's going to wear her hair for the wedding. She probably has something extravagant up her sleeve. And not just for her hair, for the whole event. From the dress rehearsal to the wedding itself to the honeymoon. "So what if I want to take a little longer to get ready. It's _my_ engagement party and I want to look good for it. Is that a crime? You know that there are going to be paparazzi there taking photos, following our car." She snaps.

Must be that time of the month.

I sigh, shaking my head, in no mood to argue with her. She gets nasty when she argues. "Fine, fine. Let's go." I open the door and step aside to let her through. "All I'm saying is that I think we should at least try to get there on time. And by the way, it's _our_ engagement party. Not just yours." I mumble as she exits, her heels clacking.

"Might as well be mine. I'm the one doing all the wedding planning while you just sit on your ass." She mumbles. Why am I always attracted to feisty woman? I roll my eyes at the back of her head then follow her out of the apartment, shutting and locking the door behind me.

"We've been engaged for a week. Most couples don't start actually planning their wedding until months after the proposal, a couple of weeks, at the very least. Oh, and I'm not just sitting on my ass doing my job. Actually working, something you're not used to." I say before my mind gets a chance to filter it.

She whirls around on her heels, giving me the look of the devil himself. I crossed a line and we both know it. Rule Number 1 of Dating Models, especially Victoria's Secret models: Never, _ever_ insult their jobs and say that it isn't a real job. Because, trust me, high heels hurt like heel when they're thrown violently at you. "Are you seriously going to go there, Damon? At least I have an official job. You just work illegally for your father. You aren't even a lawyer, just a mock up of one."

Fights with Katherine are rare. Sure, we get our little skirmishes, most of them are because I never put down the seat on the toilet and they are usually fixed with sex. But this is more than a skirmish, still nothing serious. I give it a day, two days tops, before we're acting like normal and back into the land of amazing sex.

The only difference now is that we have to act like we're the happy newly-engaged couple we should be. Nothing but bliss. So, I keep my mouth shut and don't say anything else that could remotely offend her. In fact, we don't talk the whole elevator ride down to the main floor, to the parking lot, and into the sleek black car that my father bought me when I started officially working for the Salvatore Law Office.

It isn't until then that the nerves finally set in for the day. I'm not nervous about having to interact with friends and family, all of them congratulating us on our engagement, like they did at the ball. I'm not nervous about having to pretend that I'm in love with Katherine's aunt's casserole that she brings to nearly every event and that I nearly vomit up every time I eat it. Today is the day that I actually get to converse with Elena, even though I don't have the slightest bit on how to even start the conversation. I also get to see Aubree, my little girl that I didn't see in two years. How do I even prepare myself to this? I barely got a wink of sleep last night. Instead, I spent it tossing and turning to all the haunting thoughts that something might so wrong. What if Elena doesn't even show and my nerves are for nothing? What if Elena makes a big idiot out of me in front of everyone and possibly ruin my relationship with Katherine? What if Aubree hates me? What if Elena hates me? Granted, she has every reason in the world to. But still.

I didn't fully decide on how I want my relationship to be with the two of them. As long as she remains dating Liam, we're sort of stuck together, almost as in-laws. How ridiculous. They're going to be back in my life. It's such a small world and I don't know if it's fate or coincidence. Of course, I'll want to start spending time with Aubree now. How much? I don't know, not a lot. I don't know a thing about her besides her name. I was only really a parent to her for a few weeks.

I look over at my fiancée, who's scowling ahead at the license plate of the car in front of us. How is this going to effect her? She had mentioned that she was excited to meet Aubree, who to her is just the daughter of her brother's girl. She has no idea that she's going to be her step-mom soon and possibly step-aunt, depending on how Elena and Liam's relationship goes. She'll probably hate me. Not a single person in my life hasn't hated me at least once before.

The steering wheel is moist with my sweat and I feel my insides twisting. I don't know if I'm more scared to see Elena or Aubree. I wonder how Elena is right now. Nervous, probably, like me. She was always cute when she was nervous, constantly chewing on her bottom lip and looking like a deer in headlights the whole time. I really shouldn't be thinking about her like this. I'm an engaged man.

Katherine clicks on the radio and a familiar, upbeat song starts playing, filling in the uncomfortable silence in the car.

Elena isn't going to welcome me back into her life with open arms. I'm going to have to convince her that she could trust me, even though she shouldn't. My father will never even have to know that I want to start being a father to Aubree. I can lie and say that Elena refused to let me have any contact with her or Aubree. I can even take it as far as saying she threatened to get a restraining order on me. That'll make him believe that I'm really not having anything to do with them and my life is completely devoted to work and Katherine, in that order.

The only thing that's going to do good for all of us, Elena, me, Katherine, Liam, and Aubree is talking. Elena and I will discuss our taking care of Aubree. Katherine and I will discuss everything that ever happened between me and Elena. And I will talk to Aubree about how I'm her Daddy and that I love her so much, despite not being there for the two years of her life.

When I pull up to the parking space in front of the Pierce's apartment, where the party will be held, I'm practically shaking with nerves. Katherine doesn't notice. She's too busy being pissed at me. But, like she said earlier, they're are plenty of paparazzi surrounded the entrance, eager to get photos of us. Both of us plaster smiles onto our faces and hold hands, proving to America that we are in love, even though we're fighting. She even signs a few autographs before we go up to the apartment.

Even though we're technically ten minutes late, there aren't many guests here. The few guests that are here, though, use the free time wisely and start talking to us about plans for the wedding. Katherine answers most of them, still holding onto my hand and smiling. She's a very believable actress. As she talks, I look around. No sign of Liam or Elena or Aubree. I sigh and let my mind wonder.

I wonder what Aubree looks like now that she's two years older. I hope like Elena because that means she'll be gorgeous. I always told Elena that with her beauty, she could easily be a model. She never believed me and usually just blushed and turned her head away with a smile on her face.

Mr. Pierce comes over to me. He's wearing just khakis and a golf shirt. "Damon!" He says cheerfully, shaking my hand. "Or should I start calling you son?" He doesn't give me a chance to answer and just starts rambling on. I like him. He's down to earth despite living in an extraordinary apartment in an extraordinary city with an extraordinary bank account. "What can I get you? I have Miller Lites in the fridge."

I grin. "Oh, yes. That sounds good." I'm going to need a beer or two to get me through the day.

[...]

An hour later and Liam, Elena, and Aubree still aren't here. Maybe Elena freaked out about having to see me again and decided not to go at all. But, surely, Liam would attend the engagement announcement of his only sibling. I stand off to the side, watching as Katherine and her Mom dance around the room, talking to each and every question. A few times Katherine waved me over, but I held up my beer as an excuse and that made her even more pissed at me. Oh well. Nothing sex sessions couldn't fix.

Then, the elevator door opens and there are three figures standing in it. Liam, the tallest and the broadest of them all, smiling. Holding onto his hand so tightly that her knuckles are white, is Elena. My knees go weak when I see her. With all the shock from the ball, I recognized her beauty but not as much as I should've. If it's even possible, she got prettier since two years ago. She's stunning. She's wearing a white dress with red shoes and her hair is fashioned in beautiful, silky waves that give me an urge to run my fingers through. Her doe-like brown eyes dart around the room nervously, looking for me. She looks so terrified. When they finally land on me, she tenses up even more, gripping onto Liam's hand even more.

Tearing away my gaze from her, I look at the short little girl next to her. She's even more beautiful than her mother. Her hair is the same, except it's more curlier than Elena's and much shorter, just above her shoulders. She's wearing the most adorable little pale pink dress, with sparkles on the bottom that scatter up. She looks confident enough, surrounded by people she doesn't know. She glances over in my direction, only briefly. Of course she wouldn't have any clue as to who I was. What did I except? For her to run into my arms, shouting, "Daddy!"?

But it's the color of her eyes, a gene that she obviously inherited from me that makes me want to cry. Ha! Damon Salvatore, a grown man wanting to cry at the sight of a little two year old. Mine are icy. They make me look even more like a bastard than I actually am. But, Aubree's, the same color but she brought warmth to their icy coolness.

Quickly, I disappear from the room and head into the bathroom. I lock the door behind me and punch the mirror, not hard enough for it to shatter into pieces though. And I let myself cry, not thinking about how vulnerable I must seem right now.

I hate myself.

* * *

**Now****: Elena's POV**

The sight of him makes me want to bawl my eyes out even more.

Like I have been for the past week.

Caroline and Tyler returned home two days ago and Caroline nearly pissed herself when I told her everything. When I mentioned the ball, her exact words were, "Don't you dare go, Elena! He wants this, don't you get it?! He wants to lure you back into his devil heart and then he's going to crush you all over again! Make him suffer! He deserves it!" And I suppose she's right. He did just leave me with a flimsily explanation and a newborn in my arms. I almost backed out. I could easily lie to Liam and say that Aubree was sick. He'd understand completely. But then I thought of Aubree and how this could very much affect her. If I didn't offer Damon a chance to get back in her life, how would she react to that when she's older? I would be furious if my Mom didn't even attempt to give my Dad a second chance.

I managed to calm my nerves for the whole week and most of the day. Liam didn't even notice anything was wrong when he picked Aubree and me up from our apartment and drove us here. Inwardly, though, on the car ride here, I almost asked Liam to pull over twice so I could vomit.

As soon as we step out of the elevator, I see him. He's standing over the corner of the room, drinking a beer. He looks so casual, comfortable, like he's about to confront his ex and mother of his child whom he hasn't spoken to in two years for the thousandth time. I probably look like a deer in headlights. He does look striking in his gray suit. Then again, he always looked good in suits. At least from the pictures I've been and from the ball.

Instinctively, my grip tightens on Liam's hand. Thinking it was just a squeeze because I was nervous of the whole social aspect of it, he squeezes back. I look up at him and his goofy grin gives me a sense of relief. Even if it's short-lived. When I look back at Damon, he's gone. I don't have time to wonder where he went because that's when Katherine comes over to us. I want to slap her or something out of pure jealously. Ha! She's getting my sloppy seconds. I stifle a grin.

I have to remind myself that Katherine is a friendly person, who's simply in love with the man who I just can't seem to shake off. Damon has that effect on people. So, I do smile as politely as I possibly can at her.

"Elena, oh, you look gorgeous!" She says as she pulls me into a tight but delicate hug. She smells like a Chanel perfume. I blush at her comment. No matter how gorgeous I may look, I will never compare to her. No wonder why Damon likes her so much, she's stunning.

"And you must be Aubree." Katherine says, not even bothering to acknowledge her brother as she bends down in front of Aubree. "I'm Katherine. I'm Liam's sister." She says with a big smile on her face. "Your Mommy has told me so much about you and I'm so excited to meet you."

Aubree just smiles back at her. "Hi." She says, looking around the apartment in amazement, her eyes widening as she soaks in every square inch. I wonder if that's what I looked like the first time I saw it. "You live here?" She asks, messing up a few letters as she speaks since her speech isn't fully developed.

Katherine chuckles. "It's nice, huh? But no, I used to live here. Now, I live with my fiancé." She makes the word "fiancé" last longer than it should. I resist the urge to scoff.

"Fiancé?" Aubree cocks her head to the side, butchering up the word as she speaks. I really should let her talk more, help her in pronouncing words. I know that all children stumble with words, but I would love for her to be ahead of most kids her age.

She nods. "Yes. That means I'm getting married to him. See my ring?" She holds up her hand, showing off her ring and I gulp. It's huge. A part of me screams that that should be my ring, that it should be at home on my finger, not hers, but I don't say anything.

I'm thankful for when Mrs. Pierce comes over to us, hugging me and Aubree tightly as I introduce them to each other. I hate that ring. If it were up to me, I would toss it off the balcony and pray that it hits Giuseppe Salvatore in the head.

[...]

Within the next hour, the sun has started to set over the breathtaking skyline and Aubree has made countless friends from Katherine's preppy and polished group of stuck-up snobby friends. I think I even heard someone mention that Aubree should be flower girl in their wedding. I wanted to scream right there and then.

Instead, I stole a glass of fine red wine and escaped outside in the cool city air, figuring that Aubree was more than safe surrounded by girls covered in makeup and wearing dresses that are double the amount of my rent. I lean against the railing, looking down at the spectacular views of the city. Living here would be like a dream. This only fuels my desire to actually go to college and get a real job. Obviously, I would never be able to afford something as beautiful as this. But I really do like New York and even a small upgrade to the apartment now would be a fantastic place to live.

"Gorgeous view, huh?" The silky voice puts a stop of my dreaming of college. I look over my shoulder and Damon's standing there, still holding a beer can. A new one, I assume. His hair is messier than just an hour ago when I saw him. I anticipated this moment for the past week, each time my anxiety getting worse. But now, I feel calm. Maybe it's just the wine's effect on me.

I nod dumbly, unsure of what to say. I can tell he's clueless too. Without hesitation, he walks over and stands near me, his arms on the railing. There's a good foot between us. The calmness I felt just seconds before was gone and my heart began to pick up speed, my fingertips feeling numb. I take a long chug of the wine.

"I'll never forget the first time I saw the skyline here. I just remembering thinking how amazing it was that humans built it, of what our species could accomplish." He says, looking out. I shift a few inches away from him, feeling clammy by just being so close to him. "Every person should be able to see this skyline at least once in their life. Once you see it, you never forget it."

"Can we please stop with the small talk?" I say, my voice croaking. I instantly regret it. He was just trying to be nice, not force anything onto me. But I don't want to beat around the bush. I want to get right to it, right to the conversation we've both been conjuring up in our minds over the past week, no doubt.

He heaves a sigh and even from this far away, I could smell the alcohol on his breath. Katherine would be angry if he was drunk at their engagement party. But, considering the circumstances, I don't blame him. I can't. I'm the one who's chugging down a glass of wine. "Sure, we can stop." He mumbles.

We stay silent for a while, listening to the distant sounds of the laughter and chattering inside the apartment and the loud noises of the city below. Two years of wanting him, of feeling a painful ache in my chest from missing him and he's right next to me, yet I can't find the courage to say anything. There's so many questions that I've been dying to ask him for so long, but my mind keeps drawing a blank.

But I take a deep breath, finally saying the speech I've been wanting to tell him for so long. "If you're here to somehow make things up to me, I don't think I could do that, Damon. You don't understand what you put me through when you left. And you didn't just leave me, you left Aubree." I sigh. "So, why did you come out here to talk to me? If it's just to apologize to me, I'm not going it say it's okay because it's not." I look over at him and I know it's a mistake because I feel like crying and I won't let him see me cry.

He looks at me with pity. "I am sorry. And I know that I never could make up for the past two years, but I _want_ to." He runs a hand through his already messy hair, making it even messier. "How is she? Aubree, I mean." He takes another swig of the beer. I think he's pretending to do the same thing I'm trying to do, drown away the sadness with alcohol. It's working.

"She's my everything." I say, smiling just a little. "Smart for her age with an obsession with Chinese food and The Notebook." I shrug. "Oh, and she's a total fashionista. Just like Katherine." I say the last part with bitterness. Either he doesn't notice or he ignores it because he doesn't respond to it.

He nods, looking down at his almost empty beer. "What does...uh...what does she know about me?" He looks up at me. I glance down at his lips. They're just like how I remembered them, except a little chapped now from the harsh winters in the north.

"I told her that her Daddy was away on a trip for work." I shrug, drowning down the last sips of my wine. "I figured that I would explain to her when she's older the real situation. When she understands."

"Well, you're not going to have to." He notices my lack of wine and offers his beer out to me but I shake my head. He shrugs and drinks the rest of it. I regret it, though. My lips touching where his lips just touched make me feel giddy. Those were the same lips that just two years earlier worked their way down my body, seducing me. Creating a hunger inside of me that ached urgently for more. "I want to be there for Aubree, Elena." When it says my name, it makes me flinch. I haven't heard him speak my name in so long...

"I don't know if I could trust you." I whisper, sweat prickling at the nape of my neck.

He nods, understanding. "I know and that's why I'm going to prove to you that you can. That I'm not going to walk away again."

"But your father..."

He shakes his head. "My father has nothing to do with this anymore. He doesn't even have to know, I don't want him to know."

"Damon, if want to be there for her, then you have to be there for her for the rest of your life. She's old enough now, you can't just leave her again." A lump has formed in my throat, wanting to dissolve into tears. _I can't cry in front of him, I can't cry in front of him, I can't cry in front of him._

"I know." He nods quickly. "And I do intend to be there for her. We'll have to introduce me as her Dad slowly, obviously we can't just drop it like a bomb." He sighs, looking back out at the view. An unusually loud truck drives by and I use that as time to release a whimpering sound from my throat and recollect myself. "Does Liam know...?"

I shake my head. "Does Katherine know?"

He shakes his head.

A few minutes later, after the most uncomfortable and awkward silence I ever felt in my life, he says. "So, tell me, how did you end up in New York City? This is the last place I ever though you'd be." He says, trying to create light conversation again. I don't argue.

"There's not really much of a story." I shrug. "Caroline, Tyler, and Matt all got accepted into college here. They kind of roped me into joining them. You know, get away from Mystic Falls, too many sad memories there." I say, looking down. I didn't mean him, I meant the car accident with my parents. But, if the shoe fits. "And then I got a job at Half Life, meant Liam and we started dating. End of story."

"Why didn't you go to college with your friends?" He asks, sounding genuinely concerned for me.

"College isn't cheap." I say. "Aubree is expensive and there isn't much money left in the Gilbert family now. Just the insurance money from my parent's death and the money they saved for us. Jenna and Jeremy are barely getting through. Half Life pays decent, but it isn't extraordinary. I barely have enough money each month for Aubree and my share of rent and living expenses." I didn't mean to bore him with all my financial drama, it just kind of came out.

He frowns. "I've been paying child support every month for the last two years."

"Yeah, and I've been incredibly grateful for that, seriously, but that still isn't enough." I argue. His frown deepens. "Don't worry about it. She's basically potty trained, that'll cut down a lot since she doesn't need diapers anymore."

"Of course I'll still worry about it." He sighs. "Even if you don't believe me, I've been worrying about you and Aubree every day for the past two years. She's my daughter, even if I haven't exactly been a father to her. And you're..." He pauses. "You're special to me. I know, I know, you're with Liam and I'm with Katherine and I'm constantly reminded at how ill-fated our luck must be if we ended up unknowingly dating a pair of siblings, but I will always worry about you. You're the mother of my child, how could I not?"

That has to be the alcohol talking.

"Please don't go there, Damon." I shake my head. "Don't lie to me and say that you care about me. You're with Katherine and she's so happy to be with you." I somehow manage a sad smile. "We'll have to tell them, you know. But...this could work. If Liam and Katherine are somewhat okay with the situation and you prove that you'll always be there for Aubree, this could work. Please don't ruin this."

"I already ruined everything." He mumbles, low enough that I barely hear him. "But, you're right. And I will always be there for Aubree." He taps his fingernail against the glass bottle, making a sharp _tap-tap_ sound. "So, let's just say that you do go to college, what would you want to major in?" He asks, completely changing the subject. Why is he so interested in how I've been?

"English." I answer instantly.

A smile forms on his face. "Of course. Always the writer. You're good, too. You could make millions, be the next J.K Rowling. Who knows? You could even be richer than me one that."

I can't help but smile too. "Is that a bet?" I arch an eyebrow at him.

He shrugs. "If you want it to be, sure." He holds out his hand to seal it. But I can't bring myself to touch him, especially not his hand. It'll feel like cheating on Liam. Now, just talking to Damon feels like cheating on Liam. He sighs. "I want to be friends, Elena. We kind of have to be if I'm going to start spending time with Aubree."

"I do too, but it's just...it's hard." I say quietly.

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

She looks so breathtaking out here in the moonlight, even more breathtaking than the view of the city. Her nerves seem to disappear as our conversation got longer. I guess mine did too. We can't be together, we both realize that by now. She is Liam's and Katherine is mine. But being friends sounds like the next best thing. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure that she will never be out of my life again, even if I'm married to Katherine and she's married to Liam.

"So, when can I meet Aubree?" I ask, regretting my choice of words. Meeting her? I know her. I was the second person who held her, right after Elena. I watched her be born. I'm not meeting her, just seeing her again.

She shrugs, still so unsure of herself. "That depends. Are we going to tell Liam and Katherine about everything before or after Aubree knows?" She asks, constantly glancing down at her empty glass of wine. She wants more but she's conflicted at the same time because of Aubree, she doesn't want to get drunk. Two years later and I can still read her like a book.

"We should talk to Aubree first. It's only fair." I say because it's the truth. Besides, I'm really not looking forward to that conversation with Katherine. I'd be surprised if she didn't kick me in the groin. I take out a piece of paper and pen that I always keep in my pocket and scribble my number on a piece of paper, then hand it to her. I'm reminded of when I gave her my number back at the Mystic Grill. That feels like a lifetime ago. "Call me or text me whenever you're comfortable with me seeing Aubree. I'm in no rush." But I am. Seeing Aubree today made me want to scoop her up in my arms and promise her that I'm never going to leave again.

"Okay." She nods, staring down at the piece of paper.

I look over at the glass doors that lead back inside the apartment. People are talking, laughing, drinking. "We better head back in. It's getting chilly out here." I say, though I really don't mind it. Elena lets off this warmth that makes me forget all about the cold.

"I feel better about everything now that I talked to you." She admits, biting her lip and I know how much courage it must've taken her to even look at me.

I nod. "Me too." I say and watch her go back in the apartment, stuffing the paper with my number on it into the clutch that she brought along with her.

I stay outside for a while longer, staring up at the moon and the stars and thinking about how my life would be if I just stayed in Mystic Falls, if I stood up to my father. Things would be so different. I don't know which life I would've liked better, but I'm leaning towards the one I never had.

* * *

**Now****: Elena's POV**

When I go back into the apartment, everyone is in high spirits. I am too. Sort of. Things with Damon have become much better, obviously. The whole being friends thing kind of freaks me out, though. Like we were never made for the friend part. We skipped that part, heading right into boyfriend/girlfriend. It could be nice, though.

I'll give him a call, maybe sometime later this week. I won't introduce him right away as her father, just as a friend. No matter what he says, I can never just fully trust him by the words he speaks. He has to prove himself by actions too. And even then, it's going to take a long time before I can actually say to Aubree that he's her Dad and to let him spend long periods of time by himself with her.

I head over to Liam, who made a plate for Aubree of her dinner. From the looks of it, Mrs. Pierce made sure they had some kid friendly food prepared. Aubree is munching on a greasy grilled cheese sandwich. "Hi." I smile at him and kiss him because I feel like he deserves it. I dread the moment that I have to tell him about Damon.

"Hey." He smiles back at me and wraps an arm around my waist. "Are you ready to go?" I nod.

[...]

I think about everything as I lay in bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. I'm jealous of Katherine and I wonder if Damon is jealous of Liam. If he is, he doesn't show it. I still feel all giddy inside from talking to Damon, like a schoolgirl who just had her first kiss. But there isn't anything romantic between us, it's impossible now. That shipped has long sailed, right? I will push aside the jealous feelings towards Katherine, Damon will prove that I could trust him, I will tell Liam about everything and he will be understanding, and Aubree and Damon will get along and we'll be somewhat of a family.

At least that's what I hope.

* * *

**Ah. Silly Elena. Nothing ever works out the way she plans it.**

**I don't write for a month then suddenly at midnight, I get a sudden inspiration to write. I literally wrote this whole thing in like three and a half hours. Sorry for the lateness! School started this past Monday and between that and babysitting, I've been busy. Between today and Thursday, I have four essays to write. Yay for me! Ugh.**

**That being said, I apologize in advance if I can't update fast enough. No matter how much I love writing, school has to come first.**

**I'm scared to post this chapter because of how you guys will react to how Elena and Damon acted. First, it was stiff. It was awkward, uncomfortable, both of them were as nervous as hell beforehand. But once they started talking, they realized that they have to put up with each other, for Aubree's sake. They have to be friends, they want to be friends. While they're denying their feelings toward one another. They have to be comfortable around each other and they are. This isn't some old ex relationship thing, they really love each other. Damon tried denying it to himself in the first chapters. **

**Yes, Elena welcomed him back into her life. Sort of. She's going to see how he is with Aubree and then decide if she could trust him. **

**I really hoped you guys liked it. Seriously, you're all amazing with your reviews. **

**I literally spend 90% of my life thinking about my characters. Three stories I'm working on. First one, this one, obviously. Second one, Alia and Hunter, which I started writing by the way. Third one, not FanFiction and it's a dystopian world. **

**I do not have the ending exactly mapped out for this story. I do have an idea of where it's going to go, though. Hell, I was thinking of a scene a few chapters ahead that I think you're going to love. So, keep reading. Have faith in me to let the story play itself out. **

**I ALMOST FORGOT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ THIS.**

**SOPA is back. And if it gets passed, this means that all of us who spend hours a day on the internet are basically screwed. People can't sing covers of songs on YouTube anymore. People can't draw fan art. And, worst of all for me, Fan Fiction would be considered a felony. So, sign a petition and get them to stop this. Everyone hates this law and I would honestly be lost without Fan Fiction. And you would never know the ending to this story! GASP!**

**Speaking of how I would be lost without Fan Fiction, I highly recommend you all to read "Degrees of Separation" by Louze. It's a modern Hunger Games fanfiction and it's amazing, so please, go read it. Do it now. And come back yelling at me because it made you cry. **

**I'll stop blabbering now.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH! **


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13 - "Tea Parties and Daughters"_

**Now: Elena's POV**

Caroline, Aubree, and I settle into a cozy small booth in the corner of Alice's Tea Cup, located right on 64th Street. Caroline, who had just recently arrived back home from Mystic Falls, said that this was one of her favorite places to come as a kid and Aubree just had to experience it. Painted delicately on the walls were murals of Alice from _Alice in Wonderland_, the theme of the restaurant. Aubree didn't care much for the paintings, as she never saw that movie.

"Nice place, huh?" Caroline says, setting her freshly bought Michael Kors bag next to her the booth, a Christmas present from Tyler. She gushed about it the whole subway ride here. "The best memories I have from visiting New York with my Mom when I was younger all somehow related back to this place. Aubree, do you like it?"

She nods.

"This is a perfect place for a brunch." I nod too. Caroline had great choice in everything, including restaurants. It's been a week since the engagement party and I only managed to gather up my nerves and call Damon last night. He said that he wasn't busy today and neither was I, so we scheduled to meet in Times Square at one o'clock. Caroline and Tyler had just gotten in late last night so I had to spend time with her.

"Game," Aubree commands, reaching across the table towards Caroline. She gives in and hands Aubree her smartphone. Aubree knows exactly which app to click on, clicks it, and is playing some sort of game that I have no understanding of. She does, though, since she's racking up points like a queen.

"Don't break it." Caroline warns lightly. Then she turns her attention back to me, "So, what's new in the Big Apple? How's Liam? Oh, and how was that ball? Which, by the way, you never called me that night." She says, slightly irritated as she scans the menu.

I shrug. "He's fine. He's working most the day today, said he wants to save up for a car or something. And the ball was..." I bite my lip. Besides spending time with Caroline, one of the main reasons I came here with her was to discuss the Damon issue. "...fine." I finish lamely. I'll tell her later in the brunch.

She nods. "That's good. See? I knew you'd have a good time. And Mystic Falls is, I swear to God, the exact same place we left it. Nothing has changed. _Not a thing!_ Oh, besides, Mr. Hibbard, he died. But other than that, even the leaves didn't change." She sighs, shaking her head. "Ooh, this Rooibos Admiral's Cup tea sounds good."

I don't even have the energy to see what is in the Rooibos Admiral's Cup tea description that makes it sound so good that it possessed Caroline to say something about it. Instead, before I can even open my mouth, Aubree says, "Aunty Care? You gots a booger!" She giggles. Caroline slaps a hand against her nose, sealing it as her cheeks flame. Aubree continues laughing.

[...]

Ten minutes later, the three of us are daintily sipping our teas and eating. Well, Caroline and Aubree are eating strawberry and almond crepes. I don't have an appetite, nerves are eating at my stomach. For tea, I decided on the French Vervain, which has a strong but delicious lemon flavor. Caroline found a tea that sounded better called Silver Needle Jasmine tea. As for Aubree, I just choose Organic Snowbuds tea, which was the simplest tea they had on their menu. She seems to be enjoying it.

"So, what else are we going to do today?" Caroline asks, just finishing swallowing a piece of crepe. "I was thinking shopping, I really need a pair of new shoes for school. Just a pair of basic black heels, my other ones are getting a little beat up."

"I can't." I say quickly without meaning to. "I have plans, today, actually."

She raises an eyebrow, as if the fact that I have something to do is a shock to her. "Oh. Well, what are you doing? Maybe I can tag along, if you don't mind." That's Caroline Forbes, the girl with amazing hair and her nose in everything, especially in places where it does belong.

"Normally I wouldn't mind, you know that. But today I'm meeting someone." I shrug, trying my best to sound casual unsuccessfully.

"I thought you said Liam was working today." She knows something is up. Honestly, she'll be a great journalist. She knows when someone is lying by just the way their mouth moves.

I sigh, twirling my spoon around in the cup of tea, mixing the herbal leaves that settled into the bottom of the cup. "He is. And, before you ask, no, I am not cheating on Liam. Who I'm meeting is just an old...friend." I say, searching for the right word. What is Damon to me now? Just simply the father of my child? Or should I be more dramatic and say that he's the man who broke my heart, the man that ruined me after I was all ready ruined?

"Explain." She orders, taking a long sip of her tea. She has that look on her face, that look of eagerness. She was the biggest gossiper in the whole school back in high school, she knew everything about everyone. She was the one who would spread the rumors. I feel like she's going to whip out a notepad and a pen and start taking notes any second now.

The truth has to come out sooner or later. "I don't know how to even tell you this. So, then I'll just come right out and say it. I'm meeting Damon."

Her tea cup drops, smashing into a thousand pieces on her crepe. Her eyes are wide, her mouth is in the wide shape of an O. It takes her a few seconds to regain herself and, when she finally does, she finds a waitress to come over to clean her mess, promising that she'll pay for the broken cup. Once the waitress is gone, she hisses, "Damon?! As in Damon Salvatore?! What the hell did I miss when I was gone? I was only gone for two weeks!"

Aubree is mesmerized by the game on Caroline's phone and isn't paying attention whatsoever to our conversation, so I figure it's safe to talk with her around. "Don't get mad at me, okay?! I did nothing! And, yes, I'm meeting Damon Salvatore. You'll never guess where I meant him." I mumbled, taking a bite out of Aubree's crepe, figuring I should at least have some food in my stomach for the day.

She doesn't say anything, just looking at me, waiting for me to continue on.

"The ball." I say quietly, wishing I would've gotten that tea that claimed it was a miracle worker for headaches. "Damon is engaged to Katherine, Liam's sister. I know, I know, dramatic irony at it's finest here. You don't have to remind me." I say, suddenly grouchy.

She stares at me, blinking. "God, Elena, your life just sucks." She says with completely honesty. "But I don't care if it's fate and Jesus wants you to start talking with Damon again, you aren't." She says sternly, as if she's my mother and can actually tell me what to do.

I frown at her. "Yes, I am, Caroline. And you can't stop me." I lean back in the booth and cross my arms against my chest. No way was she winning his argument. Fighter mode is on.

She just pretends to ignore me. "Does Liam know about Damon? I just...I really can't believe this. Are you sure it's Damon and not some creepy lookalike?" She says, rubbing her temples.

"No, he doesn't know anything about Damon yet." I say. Thinking about Liam just makes me feel more guilty for seeing Damon behind his back. Then again, it's not like I'm planning on cheating on him, it's just so Damon can slowly rebuild his relationship with Aubree. Nothing else. Wouldn't Liam be happy that Aubree's father is finally stepping up? "But I swear I'm going to tell him. I just haven't found the right time yet."

"Well, you're going to have to tell him ASAP, Elena!" Caroline almost shouts, looking wild. "The longer you wait to tell him, the more pissed he's going to be. And I really like Liam, he's such a great guy for you _and_ Aubree. But I absolutely hate Damon with all the passion in the world." She spats.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, feeling like everyone is staring at me. "Caroline, look, I don't care what you have to say. I am going to meet Damon today after I'm done here." I say firmly, tilting my chin up to prove my confidence.

She shakes her head and I know she's getting angry with me. "I can't believe you, I really can't. After everything that he's done to you, after knocking you up and then just leaving you with Aubree, you're just going to go right back in his arms? Can you really be this stupid? He's just going to leave you and Aubree again and, this time, I'm not going to be the one who is there to comfort you." She says rather harshly.

I glare at her. "First of all, I am not looking for _any_ type of relationship with Damon except for co-parenting. The only reason I'm going to talk to him is for Aubree and he's not going to just walk away this time, I know it. Something...something just feels different this time. He's changed, he's grew up." I shrug.

"Fine, you might not want to be the one crying, Aubree will be after he ditches her for this fiancée of his. Why would you want to risk that for her?" She says, crossing her arms too and nodding towards Aubree, who, despite our conflict, is still happily and obliviously playing the game on Caroline's phone.

"Caroline, I remember when your parents got divorced and your Dad moved to North Carolina. I remember when you found out he was gay and had a boyfriend and that boyfriend had a daughter, who lived with them. You were hurt because it meant that you weren't spending as much time with your Dad as you should but some other girl was. Look, the opportunity for Damon to be a father to Aubree has come up. I want to at least try for her. I don't want her to be mad at me a few years down the road when she realizes that I didn't give Damon another chance. Things might work out, things might not work out. But I have to try and I really believe things are going to work this time around."

She sighs heavily, chewing on her bottom up. Bringing up the divorce of her parents is a soft spot for her, I know it. But bringing up how Damon left me is a soft spot for me and she brings that up all the time. "Fine. But I swear to God, if he leaves you again I'm going to kick his ass. Just take things slow, all right? Don't rush into anything." She pauses. "So...you guys...nothing romantic again, right?" She says, trying to hide the hope in her voice but failing.

I nod quickly to assure her. "Nope. Like I said before, nothing romantic. He's engaged and I have Liam." I shrug, looking down at my lap. _But it would be nice to kiss him again..._ I think and pray with everything I got that my cheeks don't get red at that thought. If they do, Caroline doesn't say anything. "And we are taking things slow with Aubree. Today, we're just introducing him as my friend. We'll probably just walk around the city together." I shrug.

"Elena...I trust you." She says after a moment. "You have good judge of character. I just worry about you and Aubree. God, she's like my niece. You've just been through so much pain all ready in your life, most of it caused by him and it really worries me, okay? But if you said that he's changed, then maybe he has."

"You're only saying that because you know you can't stop me." I say, smiling a little. "Thank you for being a good friend, but this is for Aubree. I can't say that enough. It feels like no else approves of me wanting to do this. I need at least some support."

She nods. "So, did you guys talk?" She asks, taking a sip of her new tea that the waitress brought over to her.

"Yeah. Not at the ball, though, we were both kind of in shock. But at the engagement party for him and Katherine. He really sounds sincere." I nod, blocking out all the jealousy that I feel with Katherine and him. I really used to like Katherine, now I can't stand the sight of her.

"That's good then." She bites her lip. "Like I said, if he's even the slightest bit of an asshole, I will kick him so hard in the balls that he'll never be able to reproduce again so he can't just ditch any other woman." She shrugs. "Good luck."

[...]

"Come on, Aubs. Hurry, hurry. We're meeting my friend." I tell her, clutching her hand tightly so she won't get lost in the thick crowds of the city. It's nearly one now. I'm sure Damon is waiting right in Times Square, on the lookout for a little girl with eyes just his. I'm still nervous and have butterflies in my stomach, but it's almost like a good kind of nerves. Like the nerves you feel before a first date. Or the type of nerves you feel right before you're about to plunge down the big hill on a rollercoaster.

As we approach Times Square, I begin looking around for him. We find pathways in the maze of people and I'm grateful that I wore boots with a small heel to them, I can actually see above the heads of most people.

Suddenly, I bump into someone. I whirl around to apologize but I met with the icy cool blue eyes I'm so familiar with. How could Damon and Aubree's eyes be so different but still be the same color? "Damon...hi." My voice croaks. He's wearing jeans, a white v-neck, and his typical leather jacket. He has a little bit of salt and pepper scruff coating his coating his neck and chin.

He smiles at me. "Hello, Elena." He says quietly, but I can still somehow hear him over the loud chattering of the people. His skin reminds me of porcelain, flawless in every aspect. His long, thick eyelashes graze the bottom of his eyebrow. His angular chin that is something that only Michelangelo would sculpt. He turns his attention away from me and looks down at Aubree, a smile forming on the corner of his light pink lips. "Aubree, right?" He kneels down so he's at her height.

Aubree nods, looking at the man who she's half of. A tear escapes the pool that has been forming in my eyes and slowly rolls down my face. It's such a beautiful moment. Two years of pain and here is my life, feeling somehow complete. Damon isn't going to leave again, I know it. The way he's looking at her is better than any verbal promise.

He smiles more and I wish I could hear what he's thinking. "You're a beautiful little girl, you know that?" He says and his voice cracks a little at the end. I can hear in the pain in it. The pain, the regret, even the self-hatred. "You look just like your mother." He sighs and slowly reaches up to brush away a lock of brown hair that has fallen into her eyes. Like he used to do to me. Aubree doesn't flinch or pull away like she normally would do if a stranger did that. Instead, she stares at him, mesmerized.

I swallow hard. Maybe this was a mistake. Look at them, they're already formed this connection. I don't know how, but it's like Aubree just knows. Maybe we're going too fast. Maybe I should just turn around and go home.

After he collects himself, Damon stands back up and looks at me. "Has she ever been in the Toys R Us here?" He asks, nodding towards the entrance for the store.

I shake my head. "No." I say, almost feeling guilty. We lived here for seven months now and I didn't even find a chance to take Aubree to Toys R Us, probably the must-have store for any kid in the city. It wasn't just time that's the problem, it's the money. Toys are expensive. I went in here once to get gifts for Christmas for her, but she never was.

He nods. "Do you mind if we go in there? I think she'll love it."

I just shake my head dumbly, not having a clue what to say. The butterflies still didn't go away, in fact they feel more fierce. Will I ever be able to be calm around him? The three of us walk in the direction of Toys R Us, my hands still wrapped tightly around Aubree's.

We get inside, Damon holding the door for us. Aubree's jaw drops when she sees the ginormous store. Her eyes widen as well. "Wow!" She exclaims loudly, excitement boiling up inside of her. She starts jumping up and down, her eyes glistening with happiness. I smile at her and I can't believe that I could love someone as much as I love her. She's my whole world.

Damon stands next to her, grinning. He looks so happy too. This really is the start of something. Aubree will finally know what it's like to have two parents in her life, four actually if you're going to count Katherine and Liam. "I know you'd like this place." He laughs at her excitement. "Come on," He says.

We follow him down to the ground floor of the store. Aubree has all ready spot ten things she wants and that's the exact reason why I didn't want to come here. I think I have twenty dollars in my pocket and that's it. I hate saying no to her especially after she's been through so much. When she sees the Ferris Wheel, her eyes light up even more. "Want to go on!" She says even louder.

Damon laughs and nods. "Of course we're going on, silly." He says, getting in the long line filled with screaming toddlers. He doesn't seem to mind, though. He just looks like he's in his glory to finally make his daughter happy. He watches Aubree and I watch him. He wants to make everything up to me, I know it. Otherwise he wouldn't be here right now and dealing with all the loud chaos of younger kids. Toys R Us isn't the type of place you'd just see Damon Salvatore in.

Once we finish our waiting in line, we're first for the Ferris Wheel. It's the M&M Cart. I climb in first, feeling the gentle sway of the cart. Since it's a high step, Damon picks up Aubree beneath her armpits and helps her onto the cart. Then he joins us on the cart, sitting next to Aubree.

"Has she ever been on a Ferris Wheel before?" He asks me casually.

I shake my head. "No." Once again, I feel like I haven't been the best Mom to Aubree. Because of money, she's missed out on what feels like all the fun parts of life. I wonder if he's doing this to make me feel like a crappy Mom? No, even the old asshole high school Damon wouldn't do that.

Aubree turns on and kneels against the back of the cart, looking over the edge of her cart. Before I can, Damon reaches out, holding her sides, supporting her so she won't tumble out. I can see the panic in his eyes and I wish that Caroline could see it too, so she knows that Damon has changed and he's slowly becoming father material. He lets out a sigh of relief, "Don't scare me like that, Aubree."

[...]

After the adventure on the Ferris Wheel, Damon let Aubree get a toy of her choosing. She ended up picking a large dollhouse. He paid for it, then offered to carry it around for her. Aubree was starting to get hungry so we took a taxi to Panera Bread, where Damon once again offered to pay for our meal.

We sit at a booth, me and Aubree on one side and Damon sitting across from us. Damon and I and laugh at Aubree as she makes a mess with her macaroni and cheese. "So, Aubree, did you have fun today?" He asks curiously.

Aubree nods. "Yes, sir!" She giggles. "Thank you."

He grins. "You're such a polite little girl. Well, I'm happy that you had fun today. You, me, and Mommy will have to do another day like this. Maybe we'll go ice skating." He offers, looking over at me.

I nod, smiling. "Yeah, picking your ass off ice sounds great." I joke, taking a sip of the raspberry iced tea I ordered.

He laughs, a good laugh that is light in all the right ways. We sound like two old friends together. Then he gets serious, "I just want to thank you for letting me back in your lives. You don't know how much it means to me." He says sincerely.

"I didn't do it for me, I did for Aubree." I shrug. "Just don't make me regret it, okay? Because if you do, Caroline will kick your ass with her ten inch high heels."

"Oh, Elena, I don't intend on making you regret anything." He says, taking a bite of whatever meal he got, I wasn't paying attention. "You have every right to fear that I'm going to walk away again, but I swear to you that I won't. Especially not after spending the day with her." He smiles at Aubree.

I sigh with relief, even though I all ready knew it for myself. Just hearing him say that makes me feel better about everything. "Perfect. Now the next challenge we have to cross is telling Katherine and Liam. Does Katherine have any clue that you even have a kid?" I ask, stealing a piece of Aubree's meal.

He shakes his head. "It isn't because I was ashamed or anything, it's just one of those things I never got around telling her. I know, lame excuse."

There's a few moments of silence, filled strictly with the sound of Aubree's chewing. Then I speak up, "I really like this, Damon." I admit, looking up at the handsome man in front of me. "Seriously, you don't know how much this means to me and how much it's going to mean to her once we actually tell her."

He holds up his half-full cup of soda. "Here's a toast to us trying to forget what I did two years ago. I'm going to make things up to you, Elena, I promise you. So, we're going to forgot that I left, we're going to tell Kath and Liam about us, and then I'm going to raise Aubree as I should've for the past two years."

Our glasses clank together, a few droplets of soda and iced tea splashing out.

[...]

"So, Aubs, you had fun today?" I ask her as she splashes me lightly with the soapy lukewarm water in her bathtub. We had just arrived back home from the apartment thirty minutes ago. On the counter was a note from Matt, Caroline, and Tyler that they had gone out to a local bar for a few drinks. The idiots. They're not 21. God only knows where they got the fake IDs.

She nods. "He nice." She says, scribbling on the walls of the bath with markers that easily wash off when scrubbed. "And me love new dollhouse!" She exclaims.

I laugh. "Yeah, he's very nice and he's a very special friend to me. So, would you like to hang out with him more?" I ask, clicking the switch on the tub and the water begins to drain. Grabbing her favorite pink towel, I wrap her tiny, wet, naked body up and scoops her out of the tub.

"Yeah!" She says, squirming her way out of the towel and running down the slender hallway to her room. I groan. For once after one of her baths, I would appreciate if there wasn't little wet footprints scattered along the hall.

I follow her in and continue drying her off with the towel, much to her protests. "Pick out pajamas." I say, leaning over to her dresser and getting the pink comb. She pulls open the drawer and retrieves a nightgown with a few of the Disney Princesses on. I dress her in it and begin combing through her knots in her hair.

My phone rings and I answer it quickly, thinking it's Jenna or Jeremy. I'm mistaken and Liam's voice talks, "Hey, Lena." He says just as I finish working my way through Aubree's hair.

"Hi." I say, leaving the room and heading towards the kitchen to prepare Aubree's nightly snack that she insists on every night. Lord, does that child acts like she never ate in her life the way she gobbles down whatever happens to be in the fridge each night.

"How was your day?" He asks sweetly.

"It was fine." I say and that's the understatement of the century. "How was Half Life?" I ask, pouring milk into one of Aubree's cups and getting out two chocolate chip cookies from her that Matt picked up from some bakery the other day. I put them on the table and Aubree climbs up on the chair and begins eating.

"So incredibly boring when you're not there." He groans. "You better have a clear schedule tomorrow so I could see your beautiful face." Oh Liam, he sure knows all the right things to say to a woman.

"I am, no need to worry, bud." I laugh, sitting down on the table across from Aubree. She breaks apart the cookies and dips them into the milk, creating a mess that I'll have to clean up later. "And I can't wait to see your beautiful face either."

He laughs. "God, I love you so much, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you remind me all the time." I chuckle. "And I love you."

* * *

**Now****: Damon's POV**

"Kat, I'm home!" I call out as I enter our lavish apartment. Today was such I good day. I feel so much better with myself. Aubree likes me! I can't wait to see her face when Elena and I reveal that I'm her Dad. We'll have to do that soon. And Elena trusts me, I could see it in her eyes, she actually trusts me after everything I put her through.

"In the kitchen!" Her voice travels through the empty space of the apartment. I follow the beautiful sound of her voice. Since the engagement party and our little fight, we've been back to normal. Of course I knew that we would. "How was your day?" She asks me, casually sipping a cup of bourbon as she sits at the kitchen table, wearing yoga shorts and a tight camisole.

"Great," I grin, even thought that doesn't even compare to how I feel. I come over to her, wrapping my arms around her neck.

"What did you do all day?" She asks, her voice monotone.

"Just spent the day with Stefan and my Dad, like I said I was this morning." I say shrugging, wishing she would physically acknowledge my presence as well.

"Oh, really?" She turns her head and looks at me, arching a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"Really." I confirm, nodding my head.

"Then can you explain this?" She says, holding up her iPhone. On her phone is a picture of Elena, Aubree, and I in Times Square. How could I be so stupid?! Of course fans or idiotic paparazzi would be there, eager to take pictures. I'm sure they think I'm cheating on Katherine with Elena. I could see the headlines now. And Katherine looks as pissed as hell.

_Shit._

* * *

**Pretty darn big chapter, huh? I have to say, I got a little teary eyed while writing the scene when Damon kneeled down next to Aubree in Times Square. **

**Yes, Alice's Tea Cup is a real place in the city. There are three places of them, actually, so if you're ever in NYC, I encourage you to check one of them out! And yes, French Vervain is a real tea there. You can even order it on the website!**

**Thank you all so much for the reviews! Made to it 200! Ahh, it means so much! Every. Single. Review. Makes. Me. So. Fricking. Happy.**

**I'm going to NYC in November so I'm going to try to take pictures of the places in my story. I'm going with a huge group so I'll probably won't be able to get pictures of all the places they went too, but I'm going to try! **

**For the next chapter, BLOWOUT. Hehe. Can't wait to write it. Love you all so much! Keep reading, reviewing, favoriting, following! THANK YOU!**


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 14 - "Everything Has Changed" _

**Now****: Damon's** **POV**

"You're cheating, aren't you?" Katherine says, her voice cracking with pain as she finished it up. Her eyes, once sexy and seducing, become sad. Tears pool in them. Chocolate brown eyes, tears, voice cracking. It all reminds me of two years ago after I left Elena. I swallow hard. I was never good with tears, not even my own.

I hang my head, trying to figure out how I'm going to explain this to her. The longer you keep secrets, the more difficult it is to actually reveal the truth. You can run but you can't hide from lies. They're silent murderers. How do you even begin to tell someone a secret you've been keeping from them since you met, one that is so big that it transformed my whole life in a single night?

Dumbly, I shake my head.

Katherine stands up, wiping away her tears. I can almost hear her thoughts, willing herself not to cry anymore. She looks so broken, so much like Elena. "Yes, you were! Why else were you with her, Damon? I see the way you look at her, but I chose to ignore it." She says, her bottom pink lip quivering.

I take a step closer to her, the heavy sound of my boot hitting the hardwood feels louder through the tension in the air. "No, Katherine." I say, feeling guilty for the grief I must've caused her. Feeling guilty for keeping such a vast secret, one that has shaped me in so many ways. "I swear to you on my life that I am not cheating on you."

"Then why were you with her?" She says, wiping away stubborn tears with the back of her hand. She tilts her chin up, trying her best to show her confidence. I look away, contemplating how I'm ever going to explain this. Slowly, I take her hand. She doesn't protest. I lead the fragile beauty over to the couch and we sit down together.

"There's something I need to tell you. Something that I've been keeping from you for a very long time." I whisper, begging with everything I have that she'll somehow forgive me. I'm changing, evolving in a good man at a steady pace. I need to do this. I need to become the best father I possibly could to Aubree. This is it. I'm redefining myself as a man, fiancée, and father. It all starts with this conversation.

"What? That you've been cheating on me this whole time?" She asks, her voice croaks as she does. Why is she so convinced that I've been cheating on her? Yeah, I know it looks bad to be seen in public with her brother's girlfriend, but it's not like we were lip locking in the center of Times Square. We barely even had any physical contact.

I shake my head quickly and she visibly relaxes a little, still not one hundred percent convinced. "No, of course not. Katherine Pierce, I have never cheated on you." Which is somewhat of a lie. Never have I ever kissed or touched or slept with another woman the whole time I was with Katherine. But I had sexual dreams about Elena, as much as I hate to admit it. Then again, can anyone really control their nightly dreams?

"Then why were you with her?" She repeats fiercely. I can see the hatred for Elena in her eyes. So similar to my father's angry gaze whenever I mentioned Elena or talked about Elena and Aubree.

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to relax myself, I say, "Elena and I, we go back to high school. We dated for a little, just over a year." I'm focused on the empty fireplace, avoiding all eye contact with her as I talk. "One day, we were being stupid and had sex without protection." I whisper, remembering vividly Elena's soft touch, the sweetness of her lips on mine, how wonderful it felt to be inside of her, the woman I was convinced would be the love of my life.

Katherine catches what I'm trying to say quickly. With her eyebrows knotted together, just above her eyes as her eyelashes graze them, she says, "Y-You mean...you...you're Aubree's father?" Even Katherine can't hide the shock in her voice.

I nod once. "Aubree Miranda Salvatore born June 17th, 2010 at 7:56 P.M." I say, straight from memory. June 17th was the happiest and scariest day of my life.

She shoots me a deadly glare, gritting her teeth, "Why didn't you tell me?! What, were you going to keep that secret forever?" She spats, standing up quickly, too disgusted with me to even sit on the same piece of furniture as me.

"I was going to tell you," I say, being completely honest. "But at first I thought it was too early in the relationship to tell you and before I knew it, it was _too_ late in the relationship to tell you." I stand up as well. She crosses her arms against her chest, her bottom lip trembling. "I know, it was stupid. I'm stupid. But...God, Kat, you have to forgive me." I plead, imaging my father's angry if my secret about Elena and Aubree made Katherine call off the engagement. I cringe.

"I just...I can't believe this!" She shouts, the anger that has been boiling up inside her suddenly oozing out at the seams. She starts crying, her tears stained with her anger and hatred. "She knew, didn't she? She knew that you were living here and she knew that Liam was my brother and she did this all purposely just to get back, huh?!"

I shake my head quickly to assure her. "No. When I...left Elena, she had no clue where I was going. She moved here in the college rush, her friends are attending school here and she tagged along with them. It was all just coincidence that she met Liam. Elena had nothing to do with any of this." I say, wishing that instead of taking her anger out on me, instead of Elena.

She does. Before I have a chance to react, her hand is up and slapping me across my face. The hit is hard, stinging the thin layer of skin on my cheek. I can feel the blood rushing to it, not just because of this hit but also because of my sudden anger.

I snatch her hand before she can pull it away, my grip tight on her wrist, although not enough to make a bruise. She winces. "Do not do that again. Ever." I say sternly, glaring at her with such anger that I never thought I'd have towards her. She crossed a line.

Her lower lip quivers. "I-I'm sorry." She whispers, her anger suddenly fading for a moment. I let go of her wrist, and she quickly massages it. A second later, she asks, in a soft tone, "Why did you leave her?" She asks, almost afraid to know.

"My father." I admit to her, the anger hasn't fully dissolved yet. "He wasn't too happy that I had a kid in high school, especially with Elena. He made us both sign this contract, of course since he's an asshole lawyer. Elena only signed it so she would get child support each month. Money is low in her family, that was understandable. In the contract, it said that we weren't able to have any contact with each other. She knew I was moving, she just didn't know where. It was a huge surprise when I saw her at the ball." I pause. "Katherine, I really want Aubree back in my life."

As my anger slowly fades, her anger slowly resurfaces. "You still don't keep a secret as big as that from your future wife!" Her voice rises again. "God, I should've known! Just the way you look at Elena, believe me I noticed. It's like she's your everything."

I stay quiet.

She grabs her purse and stomps out the door, slamming it loudly behind her. Leaving me to wallow in self-pity.

* * *

**Now****: Elena's POV**

"So, what movie are we going to watch?" Liam asks, surfing through the selection on Netflix. His arm his wrapped around my shoulder and I have my head positioned against his chest. I can hear the faint sound of his heart beating.

"I was hoping that we could do a little more than a movie." I say quietly, tracing my finger against Liam's chest. This is part of my mission to be the best possible girlfriend I can be to Liam, especially since I'm going to have to tell him soon that Damon is coming back in my life.

He looks at me, grinning his all American boyish grin. Next thing I know, we're kissing. His hands are gripping onto my waist as my hands flirt through his soft tousled waves in his hair. I hear a small bang, which I can safely assume is the remote that Liam tossed to the floor. He pulls away just enough to say, "Screw Netflix," Then goes back to kissing me.

He picks me up, my legs automatically wrapping around his waist, never breaking from the sweet kiss. He carries me towards his bed and away from the leather couch in his large bedroom, one even bigger than mine when I lived in Mystic Falls. Gently, he lays me down on the bed and he places himself on top of me. Our tongues fight each other's, wrestling for dominance. Slowly, he plays with the bottom hem of my shirt before finally slipped his hand beneath it, sliding his rough hands up the smooth skin of my stomach before cupping my breasts. I let a low moan escape me. When was the last time someone else every touched me intimately? Oh, it feels so good.

Our little moment is interrupted when I hear a commotion downstairs, followed by the sweet sound of Mrs. Pierce's voice, "Elena, honey! Your friend and Aubree are here!" Her voice drifts up the stairs.

Liam pulls away after giving me a quick kiss on the neck. "Guess we better go get the little cutie." He says, with happiness I wasn't expecting. I nod and he helps me up from the bed. Fingers interlocked, we go downstairs.

Caroline is standing in front of the lobby, engaged in a conversation with Mrs. Pierce. Aubree is standing next to Caroline, looking bored until she seems Liam and I as we make our way down the stairs. "Mommy!" She screams with delight, racing towards me. Caroline and Mrs. Pierce break their conversation and turn their heads toward us.

"Aubree, baby!" I pick her up, kissing her forehead. Yesterday was the day that Aubree and I met with Damon. Today, Liam said that I had to come over. But Matt and Tyler had classes all day and Caroline's class started at noon. So, she was watching Aubree until she had to go to class. Now, it's 11:30 and she's dropping Aubree off at the Pierces, as planned.

"Hey, little Aubs." Liam says, reaching over and taking Aubree out of my arms, holding onto her carefully. I smile. Liam is a pretty broad man, with wide shoulders and a muscular built, stocky. Aubree looks so tiny compared to him. They look adorable together. Aubree grins wide, resting her head against her shoulder.

I head down the stairs and look at Caroline, "Thank you for getting her." I tell her honestly.

Caroline chuckles, "Oh, don't worry about it, Elena. You know I love her." Then she adds in a whisper, "Besides, she's the best birth control." She jokes.

I start laughing, shaking my head. Even Mrs. Pierce joins in laughing, she knows what it's like to have toddlers roaming about. "Don't worry. She's my best birth control too." I add in.

Caroline leaves, saying that she was late for her class. I join Liam and Aubree on the couch, who are arguing about what they want to watch on TV. "The Little Mermaid!" Aubree insists, propping her hands on her hips and sticking her bottom lip out.

Liam sighs. "But the game is on! And I missed it because I was too busy kissing your Momma." He grins sloppily, looking over at me. I roll my eyes and smack him lightly on his arm. He fakes pain, wincing.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, Liam!" Mrs. Pierce calls, her heels clanking loudly as she crosses the foyer, coming towards us on the couch. "Let the angel watch what she wants."

He chuckles. "Yes, Mom. I was going to anyway. Who could say 'no' to that face?" He asks, flipping the channel until Ariel and Flounder comes on the screen. Aubree's eyes widen and they stay glued to the TV. I smile as I watch her. Maybe we'll take her to Disney World someday, she'll love that. Me, Liam, and Aubree.

And Damon.

Mrs. Pierce looks at him, "Oh, Elena, by the way, I say the cutest little dress for Aubree the other day. What's her size, again? I would really like to buy it for her." She says, sitting down on the chair, crossing her ankles elegantly.

I shake my head. "Thank you, Mrs. Pierce, but honestly, you don't have to get Aubree anything." I say, slightly offended. Doesn't she think that I can clothe Aubree on my own? Then again, maybe she's just doing it out of the goodness of her heart. She has never once judged me for having Aubree, she treats her like her own granddaughter.

She shakes her head. "No, no. Please don't think for a second money is an issue. You and Aubree are part of the family now, and if I want to buy Aubree a dress, I will." She says confidently.

[...]

I'm upstairs, putting Aubree down for her nap when I hear familiar voices downstairs. I kiss my precious daughter's forehead, promising her that I'll be right in the apartment if she needs me, scared to sleep in an unfamiliar place. After she's tangled up in the warmth of the blankets, I head downstairs. As I make my way down the extravagant marble staircase, I see four familiar figures. Two of them look concerned, one looks pissed, and one looks scared.

Quickly, I realize it's Damon, his handsome face in such an foreign expression: fear. He swallows hard as his eyes dart over towards me. The three Pierces turn their heads, looking at me. I step closer to them, fearing the worst. "What's going on?" I ask, but breathe a sigh of relief once Liam wraps his arm around my waist. So, he can't be terribly mad at me.

Mr. Pierce sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wish we knew, Elena." He frowns at Damon, who shifts uncomfortably. This is such strange behavior for Damon. What the hell is going on? Would Damon honestly tell Mr. and Mrs. Pierce when I'm standing right here? Locked firmly in Liam's grip?

Mrs. Pierce then chirps in for her husband, looking a mixture of worried and slightly angry. "Damon, here, isn't be so straightforward with us. So, why won't you tell us why she left?"

I swallow hard. Katherine knows.

Liam notices my sudden stiffness and wraps his arm tighter around me, kissing the top of his head. From his facial expression, it looks like he could punch Damon. How's he going to react when he finds out Damon and mine's little secret? I guess now is a better time than ever.

Damon looks between Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, Liam, and myself so quickly I barely make any contact with him. He reminds me of a nervous fly, darting quickly. Finally, he sighs, "Look, I didn't really come here to explain things to you. Kat and I need to work out things first. I just wanted to see if she was here. Please call me if you hear anything." He says, the fear suddenly draining out of him and is replaced by an emotionless expression. I'm so envious on how he does that. How he could go from looking like a loss, helpless puppy to a man who doesn't give a shit about anyone else or his own feelings in a nanosecond. It's like he's done it since the day he was born.

The elevator door opens and out steps no other than Katherine herself. For the first time ever, she looks like a disaster. Her mascara is in thick, wet smudges below her eyes, mixed in with her eyeliner. Tear stains make streaks on her face, creating lines in the carefully applied bronzer and blush. Her clothes are wrinkly which leads me to believe that she slept with them on. She doesn't look surprised to see Damon here, but she shoots me a glare oh so deadly.

"What is she doing here?" Katherine spats, looking in the direction of Mrs. Pierce, but talking about me and completely ignoring Damon like she would a butler or a maid. "I don't want her here. Get her out of here!" She says, crossing her arms. Her hair is frizzy, knotted, most of the day-old curls were now wavy.

Liam frowns, strengthening his already-tight grip around my waist protectively. "What?! Why? She didn't do anything!" My head automatically rests his against his chest, my cheeks getting squished. Damon watches us and I watch him.

"Yes, she did!" Katherine storms over to us. "She ruined my relationship with my fiancée!" I'm reminded of when Damon and I told Mr. Salvatore that I was pregnant with Aubree, how angry he looked. How I could see it in his eyes. Same goes with Katherine.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Liam asks, his voice raising. I'm scared that all this shouting will wake Aubree up and scare her. He looks back and forth between Katherine and I, "Do you have any idea what this is about?" He asks me.

"I..." I start but Katherine speaks up instead.

"Go on, tell them, Damon." She says, glancing over her shoulder at him. His eyes are on me, watching me intently in a position that makes him look like a cheetah ready to protect their young in a moment's notice. "Tell my parents that my brother is dating your _ex-girlfriend _and that you're Aubree's _father._"

Mr. and Mrs. Pierce stare at me in shock, blinking, wondering if the words that just came out of their daughter's mouth are true. Liam suddenly pulls his arm away from me waist, looking at me in disbelief. "Is that true?" He asks in a whisper.

Hot tears pool in my eyes. No, this wasn't how this was supposed to slip out. Katherine wasn't supposed to blurt it out in an angry rage. I have to explain everything to Liam, that I was supposed to tell him today, but later when we had more privacy. But, for some reason, the only thing that comes out of me mouth is, "I'm so sorry, Liam."

He turns his head away from me and I feel a huge pang of guilt. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce still look bewildered, like they still don't believe this is true. Oh, but the world is small and we're all connected, one way or another. My heart aches for the sleeping little girl upstairs.

"Get her out of here, Liam!" Katherine screams, stomping her heels. She's acting like Aubree when Aubree throws a temper tantrum. Besides the looks, I don't understand what Damon sees in her. She seemed nice at first but now she's showing her true colors.

The tears that were pooling up in my eyes starting falling down my cheeks. I can't loose Liam, not after loosing my parents and Damon. He can't leave me, not like this at least. Jealousy can't split us apart. Liam just stands there, staring down at his feet, probably contemplating how he's ever going to break up with me. I'm a horrible girlfriend, I'm a horrible person.

Most likely the result from Katherine's shouting, I hear Aubree's frantic cries from upstairs. Quickly, I rush upstairs. Aubree's the only one that could calm me down right now, the only one that will let me believe that promise that everything will be okay. When I reach Liam's bedroom, she's sitting up in his bed, her face is red from crying. I immediately wrap her into my arms, kissing the top of her head. "Shh. I'm right here, Aubree. I'm not going anywhere." I promise.

She cries into my chest for a little, poor thing is so shaken up from being left unattended in an unfamiliar place. She clings to me. I hear footsteps from behind me and assume it's Damon. I open my mouth to speak, to say some apology and tell him that I don't want to talk about this in front of Aubree, but he speaks first. "I'm sorry," Damon says. "It wasn't supposed to come out like that."

I look over at him and he looks so innocent, so worried. For a second I think he's worried about me, but then I realize he's looking at Aubree. "She's fine, just a little shaken up from being woken up by the shouting." I quickly assure him and he visibly relaxes. "And I know." I add in a whisper.

Awkwardly, he sits down on Liam's bed next to me. He probably thinks that Liam and I had sex in this bed and I want to assure him that he didn't, but that just wants to make me giggle. It's so ridiculous. "I didn't tell Katherine, she found out. Guess some paparazzi took our pictures yesterday, she saw them." He sighs, looking at me. The iciness disappeared from his blue eyes and were replaced with a softness, the same as Aubree's.

I nod slowly. "I figured." I sigh, resting my chin on the top of Aubree's head. "I'm sorry about Katherine," I say and mean it, I just wish that she'd understand the situation better. That everyone would understand the situation better.

He just shrugs. Aubree sniffles, looking up from me and recognizes Damon. A small smile plays on her lips and she untangles herself from my arms and scoots over to him, sitting on his lap. He stiffens for a moment as Aubree rests her head against his chest, sucking on her thumb. But after a few moments, he slowly starts rubbing her back, so gently that he seems afraid that he's going to hurt her. It's sweet.

"How are things downstairs?" I whisper because Aubree's eyelids start drooping. It'd be nice if she could take a longer nap, she won't be so cranky this evening.

"Katherine is still pissed, but Michelle told her to quiet down because of Aubree. Liam doesn't look angry, just upset." He sighs. "Lucky you. I'd rather deal with a sad partner than an angry partner any day."

Slowly, Aubree drifts back to sleep, her mouth open slightly and she snores softly. She looks so peaceful, happy even. I'm suddenly jealous of her, of how she doesn't have a worry in the world. I wish I could go back to when I was a kid, when I had a family and friends and there was no such thing as Damon Salvatore. Things were a lot simpler back then.

"When should we tell her?" Damon says, his voice soft.

"Soon," I reply, watching our daughter as she sleeps. "Now that everyone knows, she should. She'll be happy, though, she likes her." I smile a little. They look so perfect together.

The floorboards creak and I look up to see Liam standing there, looking so broad in the slender doorway that leads to his room. Damon is right, he doesn't look mad, just upset. I want to hug him, tell him I'm sorry. "Ready? I'll you home." He says quietly, not even daring to look in Damon's direction.

I nod, standing up. Damon stands up too, positioning Aubree so she's comfortable in his arms and still fast asleep. He says, "I can carry her to the car." He offers. Liam doesn't refuse, he just gives a nod of the head and walks out of the room. I follow him with Damon taking up the rear.

We past through the living room on the way to the elevator. Katherine is on the couch, sobbing loudly while Mr. and Mrs. Pierce try to comfort her, begging for her to stop crying. She doesn't look up when we walk past, I'm not even sure she hears us over her sobs. But Mr. and Mrs. Pierce do, they look right at me with a expression that I can't exactly decode. I look over my shoulder at Damon, he doesn't look at Katherine, his eyes remain on Aubree.

The elevator ride is the most awkward elevator ride of my life. I'm sandwiched between Liam and Damon, who are both looking up trying to be confident as I stare lamely down at my feet. The only sound is the light snore of Aubree's.

Once the elevator is at the garage, Liam leads us over to his car. The two of us follow silently. Damon slips Aubree in the car seat that the Pierces got for her. I watch him as he does, making sure he buckles her up correctly. He does. After he's finished, he finds a blanket in the back and drapes it over her body. Then he hesitates, but eventually gives in because I watch him kiss Aubree's forehead so gently. My heart lunges for both of them.

He leaves without a word, going back towards the elevator with his head down.

I get in the passenger seat next to Liam. He begins driving back towards my apartment without a word, the radio turned off which has never happened before. Finally, when we're about ten minutes away, I say, "I'm sorry, Liam. I was going to tell you, I swear, today in fact, but then all of this happened."

He nods. "I believe you."

"Then why are you mad at me?"

He sighs, glancing over at me quickly before putting his eyes back on the road. I'm glad that he's driving, I won't have to look him in the eyes the whole time. "I'm not exactly mad at you. I'm just upset that you didn't tell me as soon as you realized he was dating Kat. And...I'm really upset that you spend the day with him yesterday."

I bite my lip nervously. "We didn't do anything. There are no feelings left between us, whatsoever. I just want to slowly get him back into Aubree's life. Liam...he wants to be her father and he wants to be a good one. I wish that you would be happy for Aubree and me."

"You still should've at least told me." He mumbles. "I don't want to loose you to him." He pauses. "Besides, can you really trust him again? After everything that he's done to you and her?" He nods back towards Aubree.

"Yes." I answer confidently. "You saw him with her, he loves her. He won't leave again. He needed to grow up and he did." I breathe a sigh of relief, believing in my own words. I look out the window at the beautiful streets and buildings and people of Manhattan.

He just nods.

* * *

**Hello! I really love writing this story lately. Now we getting to the good stuff! VAMPIRE DIARIES SEASON 5 ON NEXT WEEK! I'm so excited! **

**Also, if you like the plot in this story (Which I'm assuming you all do because you're reading chapter 14) there is a book coming out with a plot VERY similar to mine called, "How to Love" by Katie Cotugno. It is released October 1st in America, I don't know if it's different from other countries. So, I don't know if it's any good, obviously considering it isn't released, but I'm hoping it will be! **

**AND THE ALLEGIANT OCTOBER 22ND AND CHAMPION NOVEMBER 5TH AND ROMEO AND JULIET THE MOVIE SOMETIME IN OCTOBER AND CATCHING FIRE ON NOVEMBER 22ND.**

**This is such an exciting time of year! **

**Thank you all for reading/reviewing/favoriting/following. I feel like a broken record saying this every chapter but it's so true. It means so much!**

**PS - I went to a Hunter Hayes concert and IT WAS AMAZING. I was pretty close to the stage and we made eye contact for three seconds. I'm a concert kick now. Next must sees: Ed Sheeran, Kings of Leon, The Script, and Imagine Dragons.**


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